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Library of Che Theological Seminary 


PRINCETON - NEW JERSEY 


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PRESENTED BY 
Professor William Kelly Printice 


Bi Ces ooo OOF 
Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1688- 
Teh Do 


Angelic wisdom concerning 
tha Aartrana Lata anna tha 


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_ THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. — 


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ANGELIC WISDOM saa 9 1949 
<2 OBICAL o> 


CONCERNING 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 


Translated from the Latin of 


EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, 


Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, 


ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT AMSTERDAM, MDCCLXIV. 


FROM THE LAST LONDON EDITION, 


NEW YORK: 


AMERICAN SWEDENBORG PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY, 
BIBLE HOUSE, ASTOR PLACE, 


1855. 


Published by Tm American Swepenpore Printing And PuBLISHING 
Soctery, organized for the purpose of Stereotyping, Printing, and 
Publishing Uniform Editions of the Theological Writings of EMANUEL 
Swepensore, and incorporated in the State of New York a.p. 1850. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


Iy this new Edition of Emanuel Swedenborg’s invaluable 
Treatise on the Divine Providence, an attempt has been made 
to render the Translation a little more smooth, without making 
it less faithful to the original, or even less literal ; but there are 
still some peculiarities of style, which it has been thought 
advisable to retain, rather than to incur the risk of weakening 
in any degree the force of the Author’s sentiments. 

The frequent occurrence of adjectives used as substantives 
(internal, interior, &c., for instance) may be objected to by 
many persons ; but, when practicable, this mode of rendering 
the Latin neuter adjectives was generally thought preferable to 
that of adding the substantive thing, or principle, &e., because 
there is a danger of such words conveying an idea not strictly 
in agreement with the Author’s meaning. 

The retention of the Latin word where no corresponding 
one could be found in English, occurs but very rarely; and it 
may be fairly presumed, that in this work the reader will be as. 
little troubled with technicalities of language as in the gene- 
rality of works on abstract philosophy. 


<y : 
j i a ve, 
one 4 in Ee ee a) 


-#9% er 
mis 13 G94 4 
ho eae # . JAS 


CONTENTS. 


No. 
Taat THE Divine PRovIDENCE IS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DIVINE LOVE 
AWD THe DIVINE WISDOM OF THE LORD. [ile ioieecscssccscsssncy ect Rc vesseeie res 1 
IL That the universe, with all and every thing therein, was created 
from the divine love by the divine wisdom ............. sds 3 
IL That the divine love and the divine a They ceed? from the 
BU AMP OTIG Se tucsn nen. Sore cine Penny s eee cone Vens vals Gh fester ysteetneeveane ob obits 4 
III. That this one, in a certain image, is in every created thing............ 5 


IV. That it is of the Divine Providence that every created thing, 
both in the whole and in part, should be such a one, and if it is — 
note-that‘it should: befmade pot sisc exper cvcaeaees tas htel vatae vase eke ee 7 

V That the good of love is not good, except so far as it is united to 
the truth of wisdom; and that the truth of wisdom is not truth, 
except so far as it is united to the good of love ............0.ceesesseeee 10 

VI. That the good of love not united to the truth of wisdom is not 
good in itself, but only apparent good; and that the truth of wis- 
dom not united to the good of love is not truth in itself, but only 
BSL RSL CUR OL (LGC vec wesie roxves sks eslesges's oy Cac ente reas dcies <étaie cans tet ess 14 

VII. That the Lord does not suffer any thing to be divided; therefore 
it must either be in good and at the same time in truth, or it must 
be in evil and at the same time in falsity ................sccecseeessseveees 16 

VIII. That that which is in good and at the same time in truth, is 
something ; and that that which is in evil and at the same time 
FOO PAaBI Ue le NOG ANY MMIC terse canes cain Fe aek <snctysak te se08 ecotieeesoniss oodee ys 19 

TX. That the Divine Providence of the Lord causes evil and its at- 
tendant falsity to serve for equilibrium, relation, and purification, 
and thereby for the conjunction of good and truth in others .......... 21° 


Tat tHE Divine Provipence or THE LorD HAS FOR ITS END A HEAVEN 


NIMES ER AUU SCA OID Neh oe nthe Seven cece Ck ov ew ctu cv Omtes soedeyeeautesertcaceces | DE 
I. That heaven is conjunction with the Lord........... 00... .csscsceenseecrseees 28 
II. That a man by creation is such that he can be more and more 

RUSE WH CAHMOHIGOSLUCEIG DIOL Cn go Piveonc to tate gases Gesenacsecdigs Seornns cies. ss 32 
III. That a man becomes wiser in proportion as he is more nearly 

RMMES MRL CL OGL) CAI: EAOLCU ae ae Saw cmeticoanet en ceits cn coy ea dessisacesses sures suid 34 
IV. That a man becomes happier in proportion as he is more nearly 

monramod:taitho, Hordes, cetay. Wrolas vt Wik 0S ei. dene ATO. Khas. < 37 


VY. That a man, in proportion as he is more nearly conjoined to the 
Lord, appears to himself to be more distinctly at his own dis- 
posal, and perceives more evidently that he is the Lord’s............- 42 


V1ll CONTENTS. 


THat THE Divine PROVIDENCE OF THE LorD, IN ALL THAT IT DOES, HAS 
RESPECT TO WHAT IS INFINITE AND ETERNAL.....+escsccesesccessceesesereoesees LA 


I. That what is infinite in itself, and eternal in itself, is the same as 


what is divine.. SPR s vats vie vee oR ESOL ER eet CaeBin erens o alineee ais : 
II. That what is infinite and seca in itsclf cannot but have respect 
to what is infinite and eternal from itself in finites............. eer 


III. That the Divine Providence, in all that it does, has Foteae to 
what is infinite and eternal from itself, especially in saving the 


BUMEN TARO en uth create tes ie Seen Ne aba etars aoners Seay iin 
IV. That an image of what is infinite and eternal exists in the angelic 
REAVED wesc ence sess s0 Peace nerress Renee Aa er Nodes superna Ps 


V. That to respect what is infinite and eternal in forming the angelic 
heaven, that it may be before the Lord as one man, the image 
of himself, is the inmost end or purpose of the Divine Provi- 


THAT THERE ARE LAWS OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE WHICH ARE UNKNOWN 
TO MEN ...... ee Gh ia pn te Be eee, ee oN cate hey Ree See eee Cee 


THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT A MAN SHOULD ACT 
FROM LIBERTY ACCORDING TO REASON ...cceesee cree ee ersc ee eseere ealesaters wececceseace . 


I, That a man has reason and free-will, or rationality and liberty ; 
and that these two faculties are from the Lord in him ................ 
II. That whatever a man does from liberty, whether it be of reason 
or not, provided it be according to his reason, appears to him as 
DES OWIOAGE Mert cosas seghare Sey Abit Ste Sts Saas oe toes Racuces thas 
Ill. That whatever a man does from liberty, according to his thought, 
is appropriated to him as his own, and remains.................eeeeee ede 
IV. That a man by these two faculties is reformed and regenerated 
by the Lord; and that without them he could not be reformed 
and regenerated....... Lee tet ei Behe PA eso A A aces ss senate 
V. That a man, by means of those two faculties, can be reformed and 
regenerated so far as he can be led by them to acknowledge, that 
all the truth and good which he thinks and does, is from the 
Lord; ‘and. not from himself 3c, ect0@. cis sc cchse sxe th 00 pert Me od gear 
VI. That the conjunction of the Lord with a man, and the reciprocal 
conjunction of a man with the Lord, is effected by these two 
Parultiess t7 secu ceka « Posie be patemie es jeu ehe pie bs pae cisco ueiaegiens aaa hails 
VII. That the Lord preserves these two faculties in a man inviolable, 
and as sacred, in every proceeding of his Divine Providence........ 3 
VIII. That, therefore, it is of the Divine Providence, that a man 
should act from liberty according to reason............esseeeeeee es SON ee 


[HAT IT IS A LAW OF THE Divine PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN AS FROM HIM- 
SELF SHOULD. REMOVE EVILS AS SINS IN THE EXTERNAL MAN, AND THAT 
THUS AND NO OTHERWISE THE LORD CAN REMOVE EVILS IN THE INTERNAL 
MAN, AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME IN THE EXTERNAL ..... 4: HORE. iiitinge 


I. That everv man has an external and an internal of thought ............ 


No. 


46 


48 


52 


60 


64 


70 


74 


78 


87 


96 


97 


100 
103 


CONTENTS. 1X 


If. That the external of a man’s thought is in itself such as is its oa 

RALGTHH punter eecer gee cam £00 ct atcha e eos aise ve Wheat eget s aon tak on Te eete 106 
III. That the internal cannot be purified from the concupiscences of 

evil so long as evils in the external man are not removed, because 

CE MOGIstrMIC ese uci wits sit. guste t ceeel vile getatanesisath aM evade whee ered Fh 
TV. That evils in the external man cannot be removed by the Lord 

Bearer Ve WVEATIS OL PG MAD a pe sVe os ss ns Cap ny on 24-0 oo ous Be athe « 114 
V. That therefore a man ought to remove evils from the external man 

BUSsIPOULs HUTIBOLL s cartiyect vor chccie set Veale tae dekh dc Sues h To Sas Su reps teeta oe 118 
VI. That the Lord then purifies him from the concupiscences of evil in 

the internal man, and from evils themselves in the external.......... 119 


VII. That it is the continual endeavor of the Divine Providence of 
the Lord to join a man to himself and himself to a man, that he 
may be able to give him the felicities of eternal life ; which can- 
not be done except in proportion as evils with their concupis- 
GOUCOS AYE T CMOVEC dass tnerc Ciecee tege tos crave cegene denice cexdets steer eancdae | LOE 


THaT IT Is A LAW OF THE Driving PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN SHOULD NOT 
BE FORCED BY EXTERNAL MEANS TO THINK AND WILL, AND SO TO BE- 
LIEVE AND LOVE THE THINGS WHICH ARE OF RELIGION; BUT THAT A MAN 
SHOULD LEAD, AND SOMETIMES FORCE HIMSELF TO IT.......iccccsseevcccccscscscee 129 


I. That no one is reformed by miracles and signs, because they force .... 180 
II. That no one is reformed by visions, and by conversing with the dead, 


PeEmUROL toy: tOTe Custis. ae Cait et es Se tages -6 eI a che Siaetivicy seseeme LOL 
ITI. That no one is ay Re by seer and panitinents eae ne 

UREN: RASS RAB See, Se ERASERS Cen ON Oona Ma a SERB Ly CE 136 
IV. That no one is reformed in states which are not of rationality and 

SETA Bip OR Se ey ede Be Ag Be le eee Ee fy ee Se net apne Saab 138 
V. That it is not contrary to rationality and heey for a man to force 

ULE 8 RA BI AS ah RAE oe ate ta orp Sa he Mion ee Sat Ay ae 145 
VI. That the external man is to be reformed by the internal, and not 

LABEL SEE CONS eS REE tie Rae i vay Freer aG A ops cod A Ae a SN 150 


THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE Diving PRovIDENCE, THAT A MAN SHOULD BE 
LED AND TAUGHT FROM THE LoRD OUT OF HEAVEN BY THE WORD, AND BY 
DOCTRINE AND PREACHING FROM THE WORD, AND THIS IN ALL APPEAR- 


eee ee MARR ORM IRLIAS OMY Se A ea ccty wer cy SOUSA S Se cddas cc. «Wehr cacecssenarcsroersteetitewes. LOA 
I. That a man is led and taught of the Lord alone................e:escceeeees 155 
II. That a man is led and taught of the Lord alone, by the angelic 
Ji PSHE TTA NT os bo! ari OSS A Be eS is Pe 162 
III. That a man is led of the Lord by influx, and taught by illumi- 
OA Ns ee 3 th sae San as A th a a 165 


IV. That a man is taught of the Lord by the Word, and by doctrine 
and preaching from the Word, and thus immediately from him 
DMARES Page) ris sundia ig SOE CREVES Valdes Bx¥SaFTIZA FAcsH TA lp Oke dees ck aebtes 171 
V. That a man is led and taught of the Lord in externals to all ap- 
RR Ce SOLIS OLE ore) teas y fc Mores es Missi e cde eet te wk linc cos cos seyo hang 174 


x CONTENTS, 


Twat IT IS A LAW OF THE Divine ProvipENCE, THAT A MAN SHOULD NOT 
PERCEIVE “AND FEEL ANY THING OF THE OPERATION OF THE DivinE Pro- 
VIDENCE, BUT YET SHOULD KNOW AND ACKNOWLEDGE IT ...s.s.ccevesceceeseeces 


I. That if a man perceived and felt the operation of the Divine Pro- 
vidence, he would not act from liberty according to reason, nor 
would any thing appear to him as his own. It would be the same 
if he foreknew: events. .iissssseyeetssdeeds edseveausa ite ees cs stacesecdecsoces 

Ii. That if a man plainly saw the Divine Providence, he would in- 
terfere with the order and tenor of its progress, and would pervert 
and destroy it.. 

JII. That if a man manifesily%s saw the: Divine Prévdenes he ‘yoald 
either deny God, or make himself a god . : 

TV. That it is granted a man to see the Divine Pioviderice on ithe 
back and not in the face, also in a spiritual state, and not in a 
His turel Stabe i568 ELH Ne APs Pos a EUR ert sor tec ede 


THAT SELF-DERIVED PRUDENCE IS NOTHING, AND ONLY APPEARS AS IF IT 
WAS, AND ALSO OUGHT SO TO APPEAR; BUT THAT THE Divine PRovIDENCE 
FROM THINGS, THE MOST SINGULAR IS: UNIVERSAES (2.05. .ccbecsneccodcccedecccevedves 


J. That all a man’s thoughts are from the affections of his life’s love, 


and that there do not, and cannot exist, any thoughts at all without - 


those affections 258 a aS HOR EGS LIRR TE 
II. That the affections of a man’s life’s love are known to the Lord alone... 
III. That the affections of a man’s life’s love are led of the Lord by his 
Divine Providence, and at the same time his thoughts, from which 
bumah prudence.is ‘derived! sc3..ci 2. Sots «sida heen ae ee ec 
IV. That the Lord by his Divine Providence connects together the 
affections of the whole human race into one form, which is the 


VI. That those who have acknowledged nature alone, and human 
prudence alone, constitute hell, and those who have acknowledged 


God and his Divine Providence, constitute heaven ...........sese.eeeece 
VII. That all these things cannot be effected, unless it appears to a man 
that he thinks and disposes from himself ...............cscessceceeeeseeeee 


Tat raz Divine ProvipENCE HAS RESPECT TO THINGS ETERNAL, AND NOT 
TO THINGS TEMPORARY, EXCEPT SO FAR AS THEY ACCORD WITH THINGS 
PMR AD cccle s ackves bard's egan» Swoon sie Sc mumés RAL s GAME es Mae oki sna eA aaa ees notes an 


I, That temporary things relate to dignities and riches, therefore to 


honors and emoluments in this World ...........scscceesseeaeeveascsseceeees 
IJ. That eternal things relate to spiritual honors and riches, which are of 
love and wisdom, in*heaveny ..'.4ia-b2<543 tdi h oeedee sabenseates eames 
Iff. That things temporary and eternal are separated by man, but are 
joined:-by the Vord.c...<....3+<:..«0.3sesthh yyeace eae 


IV. That the conjunction of things temporary and eternal in a man is 
the Divine Providence of the Lord........... onus davice dvedbiiaitinsbaGadiv's 0 


176 


180 


182 


187 


191 


1938 
197 


200 


201 
204 


205 


210 


214 


215 


216 


CONTENTS. Xi 


THAT A MAN IS NOT ADMITTED INTERIORLY INTO THE TRUTHS OF FAITH =i 
AND THE GOODS OF OHARITY, EXCEPT SO FAR AS HE CAN BE KEPT IN 
THEM TO THE END OF LIFE ...ccecsscccecsccccnseetcccnseeeseseccecnneoresecseeestensees 221 

IL. That a man may be admitted into the wisdom of spiritual things, and 
also into the love of them, and yet not be reformed.............:..4+0++ 222 
Il. That if a man afterwards recedes from them, and runs counter to 
them, he profanes what is holy .. save 226 
III. That there are several kinds of pronation ‘of ani is (keke ee 
that this kind is the worst of all .. pers 229 
IV. That therefore the Lord does Hea lait a man annintaribe ly into ihe 
truths of wisdom, and at the same time into the goods of love, 
except so far as he can be kept in them to the end of life............. 232 


THAT THE LAWS OF PERMISSION ARE ALSO LAWS OF THE Divine PROVIDENCE 2384 


L. That the wisest of men, Adam, and his wife, suffered themselves to be 
seduced by a eae and that God did not A Ala this by his 
Divine Providence........... 241 

Il. That their first-born son, “Gaih: cee his aii ‘Abel, Pail God did a 
prevent it by speaking to him, but only cursed him after the act.... 242 

III. That the Israelitish nation worshiped a golden calf in the ae 
ness, and acknowledged it as the God which brought them out of 
the land of Egypt; yet Jehovah saw this from Mount Sinai, not far 
off, and did not prevent it......c.scsseeseeeseesesneeeeeeee teresa eeseeeene ees 248 

IV. That David numbered the people, and a pestilence was therefore 
sent among them, by which many thousands of men perished, and 
that God did not send the prophet Gad to him before the act, but 


after it, to denounce punishment ..........se.ssseeeeeseeeee senna esersereceee 244 
V. That Solomon was permitted to establish idolatrous worship ......-... 245 
VI. That many kings after Solomon were permitted to profane the 

temple and the holy things of the church .. shiunebdaassemveedes> oye 246 
VII. That that nation was permitted to crucify the Lani Pe crt t: DETTE 247 


That every worshiper of self and of nature confirms himself against 
the Divine Providence, 


{. When he sees so many impious persons in the world, and so many of 
their impieties, in which at the same time some glory, and on account 
of which nevertheless they receive no punishment from God ......... 249 
{I. When he sees the impious promoted to honors, and made nobles and 
primates; that they moreover abound in wealth, and live elegantly 
and magnificently, while the worshipers of God remain. in contempt 


ANG POVETLY ....-secsseecsreeeessereerseceersseeerseceeesseetesseuensesueererseses 250 
[II. When he considers that wars are permitted, by which so many men 
are slaughtered, and their possessions plundered ...........ss.0seese+08 251 


IV. When he thinks, according to his perception, that victories declare 
on the side of prudence, and not always on the side of justice, and 
that it makes no difference whether the general be a good or a 


WICK ACL WAT. icsccuaccccccccnesenccducacscganseqcsp se coTapebsba oe chad acesrseerdescs - 262 


CONTENTS. 


That the merely natural man confirms himself against the Divine Provi- 
dence, 


I. When he considers the religions of various nations, and that there are 
some who are totally ignorant of a God, some who adore the sun 
and moon, and some also who adore idols and graven images......... 

II. When he reflects upon the Mahometan religion, and considers that it 
is received by so many empires and kingdoms ..............c..sceesenees 

III. When he sees that the Christian religion is received only in the 
smallest quarter of the habitable globe, called ieee and that 
there it is divided .. Nise nes ep Boca 

IV. Because in many aie olan hark the ‘Onfitinn relists is received, 
there are some who claim to themselves divine power, and desire to 
be worshiped as gods, and because they invoke dead men ............ 

V. Because, among those who profess the Christian religion, there are 
some who place salvation in certain words which they think and 
speak, and ‘not injany.good they do. %...ss<wer.esecrepueasbercsemeerteee rc? 

VI. Because there have been, and still are, so many heresies in the 
Christian world, such as those of the Quakers, Moravians, Anabap- 
tists, and Others... «iiss xe ¥esancwe <oop ee egdeeeet tes sans eee kan Three ee 


That a doubt may be inferred against the Divine Providence, 


I. Because the whole Christian world worship God under three persons, 
which is three Gods; and because heretofore they have not known 
that God is one in person and in essence, in whom there is a trinity, 
and that that;God ‘is the Lords, 0.0 .usstise sates cesta cus tees oe eet eee 

II. Because heretofore it was not known, that in every particular of 
the Word there is a spiritual sense, and that therein its holiness 
CODSISES W, Absnc sic dears Cvedianess dee voeiecs sc veotctlea sttetatass Cotatee acne ttn immanent 

III. Because heretofore it was not known that the very essence of the 
Christian religion consists in shunning evils as sins ............0....00008 

IV. Because it was not known heretofore that a man lives as a man 
after death, and this was not discovered till now................eeseeees 


THAT EVILS ARE PERMITTED FOR A CERTAIN END, WHICH IS SALVATION ...... 


I. That every man is in evil, and that he is to be withdrawn from eyil 


that ‘hemay -bewreformeds.govis-. sc -k aadestessan cease oaens ten eee 
II. That evils cannot be removed except they appear fille eee 
III. That in proportion as evils are removed, they are remitted Rtas ore 
IV. That thus the permission of evil is for a certain end, which is 
BALVAUION oe. 0.50 Gg ddae's Ses saalsic' cue'en' 5 tude ga cits vene iets Valse en 


FEO EH SH THE HEHEHE HHT ETE THE HEHE EE EH EEE EEE SHe eT EEH HEE SESE HE HEE EEE SESE SSEE EE EEEEH EEE 


J. That the Divine Providence, not only with the good, but also with 
the wicked, is universal in things the most particular, and yet that 
it is not in their evils 


SETHE REET e eH Hore ee we Hee EHH OET EEE SHH HHH SESE HEH HERE HE SH ESS 


No 


254 


257 


258 © 


259 
260 


CONTENTS. 


II. That the wicked continually lead themselves into evils, but that the 
Lord continually withdraws them from evils...........sssescceeeceeeceees 
IIT. That the Lord cannot entirely lead the wicked out of evils and into 
goods, so long as they consider self-derived intelligence to be all, 
andthe Divine Providence nothing..............0c0ceccecccceseccacoesescos 
IV. That the Lord governs hell by opposites, and the wicked who 
are in the world he governs in hell as to interiors, but not as to 
Pe ELAOES Mande voratestyc ACt rast ete t er rity tes cies ans cee ee. 


THAT THE DIvINE PROVIDENCE APPROPRIATES NEITHER EVIL NOR GOOD TO ANY 
ONE, BUT THAT SELF-DERIVED PRUDENCE APPROPRIATES BOTH Seridscwioccsssiests eee 


I, What self-derived prudence is, and what that prudence which is not 
CLEA EY £211 brit HRA alte aritya Lae, RiP TT ee OL 
IL. That a man from seif-derived prudence persuades himself, and con- 
firms in himself the idea, that every good and truth is in and from 


himself, and in like manner every evil and alGipyeenceaeecetetecs cce ° 
Il. That every thing, of which a man is persuaded, and in which he is 
confirmed, remains as his proprium.................esceceessesscesssseeeseee 


IV. That if a man would believe, as is the truth, that every thing good 
and true is from the Lord, and every thing evil and false from hell, 
he would neither appropriate to himself good, and make it merito- 
rious, nor would he appropriate to himself evil, and make himself 
ALIEN Eek ei A A eS De Nes, ania Ra 


THAT EVERY MAN MAY, BE REFORMED, AND THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 
SMES LEN AL LON Se enitesesatisstece ted scorch cattestacc nie 


I. That the end of creation is a heaven out of the human race............. 
II, That thence it is of the Divine Providence, that every man is capa- 
ble of being saved, and that those are saved who acknowledge a 
Codvandlead a) soodelife:. Bsiseiis woe. AE, oe ON EEE BE GRS ot | 
II. That it is a man’s own fault if he is not saved...........ce6....6...5, Ais 
IV. That thus all are predestined to heaven, and none to hell............ - 


Tuar tHE Lorp CANNOT ACT AGAINST THE LAWS OF THE Divine Provr 
DENCE, BECAUSE TO ACT AGAINST THEM WOULD BE TO ACT AGAINST HIS 
DIVINE LOVE AND HIS DIVINE WISDOM, CONSEQUENTLY AGAINST HIMSELF...... 


I. That the operation of the Divine Providence in saving a man begins 
at his birth, and continues to the end of his life, and afterwards to 
OLOLNIS emMeneMEAY, “a eveS ee eee eae 

Il, That the operation of the Divine Providence is continually effected 
by means which are out of pure INGEOME ridee tess eeasccts civacsertecetccnt 3 

Il, That momentaneous salvation from immediate mercy is impos- 
OL of ae coc cy oo ep, a 

IV. That momentaneous salvation from immediate mercy is the fiery 
flying serpent in the church ..........sscccsesesssosesevesseccesess seeipes bate 


299 


308 


310 


312 


317 


331 


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ANGELIC WISDOM 


CONCERNING 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 


THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE IS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 
DIVINE LOVE AND THE DIVINE WISDOM OF THE LORD. 


1. by order that it may be understood what the Divine Pro- 
vidence is, and that it may be seen to be the government of the 
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom of the Lord, it will be 
useful that the propositions which have been advanced and illus- 
trated respecting the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, in 
the treatise on that subject, should be known. They are as 
follows: That in the Lord the Divine Love is of the Divine 
Wisdom, and the Divine Wisdom is of the Divine Love, n. 34 
—39. That the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom cannot 
but be and exist in other things created from Itself, n. 47—51. 
That all things in the universe were created from the Divine 
Love and the Divine Wisdom, n. 52, 58, 151—156. That all 
things in the universe are recipients of the Divine Love and the 
Divine Wisdom, n. 54—60. ‘That the Lord appears before the 
angels as a sun, and that the heat thence proceeding is love, 
and the light thence proceeding is wisdom, n. 883—88, 89—92, 
93—98, 296—301. That the Divine Love and the Divine 
Wisdom, which proceed from the Lord, form a one, n. 99— 
102. That the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, created 
the universe and all things therein from Himself, and not from 
nothing, n. 282—284, 290-295. These propositions are illus- 
trated in the treatise, entitled Anaeric Wispom coNcERNING 
THE Divine Love anp tae Divine Wispom. 

2. From these propositions, compared with the views given 
in the same work respecting creation, it may indeed appear, 
that what is called the Divine Providence is the government of 
the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom of the Lord: but as 
creation was there treated of, and not the preservation of the 
state of things after creation, which last is the government of 


2, 3 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


the Lord, therefore we shall now treat on this subject; con- 
sidering, in this first article, the preservation of the union of 
the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, or the Divine Good 
and the Divine Truth, in the things which are created; of 
which we shall speak in this order: I. That the universe, with 
all and every thing therein, was created from the Divine Love 
by the Divine Wisdom. II. That the Divine Love and the 
Divine Wisdom proceed from the Lord as a one. IIL. That 
this one, in a certain image, is in every created thing. IV. 
That it is of the Divine Providence, that every created thing, 
both in the whole and in part, should be such a one; and if it 
is not, that it should be made so. V. That the good of love is 
not good, except so far as it is united to the truth of wisdom ; 
and that the truth of wisdom is not truth, except so far as it is 
united to the good of love. WI. That the good of love not 
united to the truth of wisdom is not good in itself, but only 
apparent good ; and that the truth of wisdom not united to the 
good of love is not truth in itself, but only apparent truth. 
VIL. That the Lord does not suffer any thing to be divided ; 
therefore it must either be in, good and at the same time in 
truth, or it must be in evil and at the same time in falsity. 
VIII. That that which is in good and at the same time in truth, 
is something; and that that which is in evil and at the same 
time in falsity, is not any thing. IX. That the Divine Pro- 
vidence of the Lord causes evil and its attendant falsity to serve 
for equilibrium, relation, and purification, and thereby for the 
conjunction of good and truth in others. 

3. I. That the universe, with all and every thing therein, 
was created from the Divine Love by the Divine Wisdom. That 
the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, is, as to his essence, 
Divine Love and Divine Wisdom; and that from Himself he 
created the universe and all things therein; was shown in the 
treatise concerning Tae Drivive Love anp THe Divine Wis- 
pom: whence it follows, that the universe, with all and every 
thing therein, was created from the Divine Love by the Divine 
Wisdom. In the same treatise it was also shown, that love 
without wisdom cannot do any thing, nor wisdom without love: 
for love without wisdom, or the will without the understanding, 
cannot think of any thing, nor can it see, be sensible of, or 
speak of any thing; therefore neither can it do any thing. In 
like manner, wisdom without love, or the understanding without 
the will, cannot think of any thing, neither can it see, or be 
sensible of, or speak of any thing; nor, therefore, can it do 
any thing: for if love be taken away, there is no longer any 
volition, and consequently no action. And as this is the case 
with man when he does any thing, much more was it the case 
with God, who is love itself and wisdom itself, when he created 
and made the universe and all things therein. That the universe, 

2 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, 3, 4 


with all and every thing appertaining to it, was created from 
the Divine Love by the Divine Wisdom, is a proposition which 
may be confirmed from all things which are the objects of sight 
in the world: take for this purpose any object in particular, and 
if you examine it with some degree of wisdom, you will be con- 
firmed. Take a tree, or its seed, its fruit, its flower, or its 
leaf, and, collecting all your wisdom, view it with a good mi- 
croscope, and you will see in it wonderful things; whilst the 
interiors, which you do not see, are still more wonderful. Ob- 
serve the order in which the parts succeed each other during the 
growth of a tree from the seed till it produces new seed ; and 
consider whether there be not in every successive stage a con- 
tinual endeavor to propagate itself further; for the ultimate to 
which it tends is seed, in which its prolific principle exists anew. 
If then you reflect upon it spiritually, (and this you can do if 
you choose,) will you not see wisdom displayed? This you will 
do especially if you so far think spiritually as to perceive that 
the prolific principle is not from the seed, nor from the sun of 
this world, which is pure fire, but that it is in the seed from 
God the Creator, who possesses infinite wisdom; and that it is 
in it not only when created, but also continually afterwards ; 
since, as support is perpetual creation, subsistence is perpetual 
existence: for, as the work ceases if you take away will from 
action, or as speech ceases if you deprive it of thought, or as 
motion ceases when the producing effort is withdrawn; go in 
like manner, if you take away the cause from the effect, the 
effect perishes, and so on. Every created substance indeed is 
endued with power; but power does not operate from itself, but 
from him who bestowed it. Examine also any other subject on 
earth, as a silk-worm, a bee, or any other insect; view ‘it first 
naturally, afterwards rationally, and lastly spiritually: then if 
you can think elevatedly, you will be astonished at every thing ; 
and if you permit wisdom to speak in you, you will say in 
astonishment, Who does not see a divine principle in these 
things /—they are all effects of the Divine Wisdom. This will 
be the case still more, if you regard the uses of all things which 
are created, perceiving how they proceed in regular order even 
unto man, and from man to the Creator from whom they are ; 
and that upon the conjunction of the Creator with man the 
connection of all things depends, and, if you will acknowledge 
it, the preservation of all things. That the Divine Love created 
all things, but nothing without the Divine Wisdom, will be seen 
in what follows. 

4. I. Lhatthe Diwine Love and the Divine Wisdom proceed 
From the Lord as a one. This also is evident from what, was 
shown in the treatise concerning Taz Divine Love anp THE 
Divixz Wispom, especially from the following articles therein: 
That Esse and Exisrere [ro px and ‘10 exist] in the Lord are 

3 B 


4. ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


distinctly one, n. 14—17. That in the Lord infinite things are 
distinctly one, n. 17—22. ‘That the Divine Love is of the Divine 
Wisdom, and the Divine Wisdom of the Divine Love, n. 34— 
99 That love without a marriage with wisdom cannot do any 
thing, n. 401—403. That love does nothing but in conjunction 
with wisdom, n. 409, 410. That spiritual heat and spiritual 
light, in proceeding from the Lord as a sun, form a one, as the 
divine love and the divine wisdom in the Lord are a one, n. 99 
—132. Although from what is shown in treating of these 
articles, the truth of this proposition is evident, yet, as it is 
not known how two things distinct from each other can act as a 
one, I will here show that a one does not exist without a form, 
but that the form itself makes a one; and next, that the form 
makes a one, so much the more perfectly in proportion as the 
things which enter into it are distinct from each other, and 
nevertheless united. That a one does not exist without a form, 
but that the form itself makes a one. Kvery one who thinks 
intently on the subject may see clearly, that a one without a 
form does not exist, and if it does exist that it is a form: for 
whatsoever exists derives from its form that which is understood 
by quality, predicate, change of state, relation, and the like; 
wherefore that which is not in a form has no quality, and that 
which has no quality has not any thing; the form itself giving 
all these. And forasmuch as all things which are in a form, if 
the form is perfect, have mutually respect to each other, as one 
link in a chain has to another; therefore it follows, that the 
form itself makes them a one, and, consequently, a subject, of 
which may be predicated quality, state, affection, and therefore 
something, according to the perfection of the form. Such a 
one is every thing which is an object of sight in the world, and 
such a one also is every thing which is not an object of sight, 
whether it be in interior nature or in the spiritual world; such 
a one is man, and such a one is a human society ; such a one is 
the church, also the universal angelic heaven before the Lord ; 
in a word, such a one is the created universe, not only in 
general, but in every particular. Now, in order that all and 
every thing may be forms, it 1s necessary that he who created 
all things should be form itself, and that from form itself all 
things which are created should exist in forms: this, therefore, 
3 what is shown in the treatise concerning Tum Divine Love 
AND THE Divine Wispom, under the following heads: viz. 
That the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom are a substance 
and a form, n. 40—48. That the Divine Love and the Divine 
Wisdom are substance and form in themselves, consequently, 
the selfsubsisting and the one only subsisting essence or prin- 
ciple, n. 4446. That the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom 
in the Lord are a one, n. 14—17, n. 18—22. And that they 
proceed as a one from the Lord, n. 99—102, and in other places. 
4 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 4,5 


That the form makes a one so much the more perfectly in propor- 
tion as the things which enter into it are distinct from each other, 
and nevertheless united. This is comprehended with difficulty 
unless the understanding be elevated, because there is an ap- 
pearance that form cannot make a one except when there is a 
similarity in the things which constitute it. On this subject I 
have frequently conversed with the angels; who said that this 
is an arcanum, which the wise among them perceive clearly, 
but the less wise obscurely: that nevertheless it is a truth, that 
a form is so much the more perfect in proportion as the things 
which constitute it are distinct from each other, but still united 
in a particular manner. They confirmed this by reference to 
the societies in the heavens, which, taken together, constitute 
the form of heaven ; and to the angels of each society, of which 
it may be affirmed, that the more every individual has a distinct 
identity of character, in which he freely acts, and thus loves 
his associates from himself or from his own affection, the more 
perfect is the form of the society. They also illustrated it by 
the marriage of goodness and truth, which, the more distinctly 
they are two, can more perfectly form a one; and, in like 
manner, by love and wisdom; showing that what is indistinct 
is confused, whence results all imperfection of form. But how 
things perfectly distinct are united, and thus make a one, they 
confirmed by many instances; especially by the nature or con- 
stitution of man, in which innumerable things are quite dis- 
tinct, and yet united,—distinct by their coats, but united by 
ligaments. They also stated, that it is the same with love and 
all things appertaining to it, and with wisdom and all things 
appertaining to it, which are not perceived otherwise than as a 
one. More on this subject may be seen in the treatise concern- 
ing Tae Divine Love anp tHe Divine Wispom, n. 14—22, 
and in the work concerning Heaven anp Herz, n. 56 and 489. 
This is adduced because it is an arcanum of angelic wisdom. 

5. IU. Lhat this one, in a certain image, ts in every created 
thing. That the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, which 
in the Lord are a one, and which proceed as a one from him, 
are in a certain image in every created thing, may appear from 
what is proved throughout the treatise concerning Tue Divine 
Love and tHe Drvive Wispom, but especially in n. 47—51, 
54—60, 282—284, 290—295, 316—318, 319—326, 349—357 ; 
in which places it is shown, that the divine principle is in every 
created thing, because God the Creator, who is the Lord from 
eternity, from himself produced the sun of the spiritual world, 
and by that sun all things in the universe; consequently, that 
that sun, which is from the Lord, and in which is the Lord, is 
not only the first, but the one only substance, from which all 
things are; and forasmuch as it is the one only substance, it 
follows that it is in every created thing, but with infinite variety 


e 
5, 6 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


according to different uses. Now, as in the Lord there is 
Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and in the sun from him 
divine fire and divine effulgence, and from the sun spiritual 
heat and spiritual light, and these two form a one, it follows, 
that this one is in a certain image in every created thing. 
Hence it is, that all things in the universe have relation to good 
and truth, and, indeed, to the conjunction of them; or, what 
is the same, that all things in the universe have relation to love 
and wisdom, and to their conjunction ; for good is of love, and 
truth is of wisdom, inasmuch as love calls all which appertains 
to it good, and wisdom calls all which appertains to it truth. 
That there is a conjunction of these in every created thing, will 
be seen in what follows. 

6. It is acknowledged by many, that there is one only 
substance, which is also the first, from which all things are; 
but what that substance is, it is not known. It is thought to be 
so simple that nothing can be simpler, and that it may be com- 
pared to a point which has no dimensions, and that from an 
infinite number of such points, the forms of dimension exist. 
This, however, is a fallacy originating from the idea of space: 
for from this idea there appears to be such a smallest particle ; 
when, nevertheless, it is a truth, that in proportion as a thing 
is more simple and more pure, it is more full and complete. 
It is on this account, that the more interiorly any object is 
inspected, the more wonderful, perfect, and beautiful are the 
things seen in it; and consequently, that in the first substance 
are the most wonderful, perfect, and beautiful things of all. 
The reason of this is, that the first substance is from the spi- 
ritual sun, which, as before stated, is from the Lord, and in 
which is the Lord; therefore, that very sun is the one only sub- 
stance, which, forasmuch as it is not in space, is all in all, and 
in the greatest and least things in the created universe. As 
that sun is the first and one only substance, from which all 
things are, it follows that there are in it infinitely more things 
than can appear in the substances thence derived, which are 
called substantiate, and lastly material. The reason why the 
former cannot appear in the latter, is, because they descend 
from that sun by degrees of two kinds, according to which all 
perfections decrease. Hence it is that, as was said above, the 
more interiorly any object is viewed, the more wonderful, per- 
fect, and beautiful are the things seen in it. These observations 
are made in order to confirm the truth, that in a certain image 
the Divine is in every created thing, but that it appears less 
and less in descending by degrees, and still less when, the infe- 
rior degree being separated from the superior degree by the 
closing of the latter, it is choked up with earthy matter. Such 
truths, however, cannot but seem obscure, unless what is said 
in the treatise on Tae Drvine Love anp THE Divine Wispom, 

6 | 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 6—8 


concerning the spiritual sun, n. 53—172; concerning degrees, 
n. 1738—281; and concerning the creation of the universe, n. 
232—357, has been first read and understood. 

T. IV. Lhat i is of the Divine Providence, that every 
created thing, both in the whole and in part, should be such a One, 
and if vt 28 not, that it should be made so; that is, that in every 
created thing there should be something trom the Divine Love, 
and at the same time from the Divine Wisdom ; or, what is the 
same, that in every created thing there should be good and 
truth, or a conjunction of good and truth: for as good is of 
love, and truth is of wisdom, as was said above, n. 5, so in 
what follows, instead of love and wisdom, the words good and 
truth will be used, and instead of the union of love and wisdom, 
the marriage of good and truth. 

8. From the preceding article it is evident that the Divine 
Love and the Divine Wisdom, which in the Lord are one, and 
from the Lord proceed as one, exist in a certain image in every 
thing created by him; and it may now be expedient to speak 
particularly of that oneness or union, which is called the mar- 
riage of good and truth. That marriage is, I. in the Lord 
himself; for, as before said, the Divine Love and the Divine 
Wisdom in him are one. — IL. It is from the Lord, for in every 
thing which proceeds from him love and wisdom are perfectly 
united ; and these two proceed from the Lord as a sun,—the 
Divine Love as heat, and the Divine Wisdom as light. III. 
They are received by the angels indeed as two, but are united. 
in them by the Lord: and it is the same with the men of the 
church. IV. It is from the influx of love and wisdom from the 
Lord as one into the angels of heaven and men of the church, 
and from the reception thereof by. angels and men, that the 
Lord in the Word is called the Bridegroom and the Husband, 
and heaven and the church the bride and the wife. V. As far 
therefore as heaven and the church in general, and an angel of 
heaven and a man of the church in particular, are in that 
union, or in the marriage of good and truth, so far are they an 
image and likeness of the Lord; because these two in the Lord 
are one, and indeed they are the Lord. VI. Love and wisdom 
in heaven and in the church in general, and in an angel of hea- 
ven and in a man of the church, are one, when the will and 
the understanding, and when therefore good and truth, make 
one; or, what is the same, when charity and faith make one 5 
or, what is still the same, when doctrine from the Word and a 
life according to it make one. VII. But in what manner these 
two make one in man, and in all things appertaining to him, is 
shown in the treatise concerning Tun Drivive Love anp THE 
Divine Wispom, Part V., where the creation of man, and 
particularly the correspondence of the will and the understanding 
with the heart and the lungs, are treated of, from n. 385 to 482. 


9—11 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


9. But how these make one in the things which are below 
or without man, as well in the things of the animal kingdom 
as in those of the vegetable kingdom, will be shown in many 
places in what follows; previous to which these three things are 
to be premised: J/rst, That in the universe, and in all and 
every thing therein, which was created by the Lord, there was 
a marriage of good and truth. Secondly, That this marriage 
after the creation was separated in man. Zhirdly, That it is of 
the Divine Providence that what is separated should be made 
one, and thus, that the marriage of good and truth should be 
restored. These three particulars are abundantly confirmed in 
the treatise on Tur Divine Love; anp rae Divine Wispom, 
and therefore need no further confirmation. Every one also 
may see from reason, that since a marriage of good and truth 
existed by creation in every created thing, and since this was 
afterwards separated, the Lord must operate continually, that 
it may be restored; consequently, that its restoration, and the 
conjunction thereby of the created universe with the Lord 
through man, is of the Divine Providence. 

10. V. That the good of love is not good, except so far as 
it is united to the truth of wisdom, and that the truth of wisdom 
is not truth, except so far as it is united to the good of love. 
Good and truth derive this from their origin. Good in its origin 
is in the Lord, and so is truth; because the Lord is good itself 
and truth itself, and these two in him are one. Hence it is, 
that good in the angels of heaven and in men on the earth is 
not good in itself, except so far as it is united to truth, and that 
truth is not truth in itself, except so far as it is united to good. 
That all good and all truth is from the Lord, is well known ; 
hence, as good makes one with truth, and truth with good, it 
follows that, in order to. good being good in itself, and truth 
being truth in itself, they must make one in the recipient, 
which is an angel of heaven and a man on the earth. 

11. It is known indeed that all things in the universe have 
relation to good and truth ; because by good is understood that 
which universally comprehends and involves all things of love, 
and by truth is understood that which universally comprehends 
and involves all things of wisdom: but it is not yet known that 
good is not any thing unless united to truth, and that truth is 
not any thing unless united to good. It appears indeed as if 
good were something without truth, and as if truth were some- 
thing without good ; but still they are not: for love, all things 
appertaining to which are called good things, is the esse of a 
thing, and wisdom, all things appertaining to which are called 
truths, is the existere of a thing from that esse, as is shown in 
the treatise on Tue Divine Love anp tHe Divine Wispow, 
n. 14-16; wherefore, as an esse without exestere is not any 
thing, nor ewistere without an esse, so good without truth is not 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. Ele 


any thing, nor truth without good. In like manner, what is 

ood without relation to something ?—can it be called good? 
for it is of no affection and of no perception. This, together 
with the good which affects, and which causes itself to be per- 
ceived and felt, has relation to truth, because it has relation to 
that which is in the understanding. Say barely to any one, 
good, and not this or that is good, and is good any thing? But 
by virtue of this or that which is perceived as a one with good, 
it is something. This is not united to good anywhere but in 
the understanding, and every thing of the understanding has 
relation to truth. It is the same with volition; to will without 
knowing, perceiving, and thinking what a man wills, is nothing, 
but together with these it becomes something. All volition is 
of love, and has relation to good; and all knowledge, percep- 
tion, and thought are of the understanding, and have relation 
to truth. Hence it is evident, that merely to will is nothing, 
but to will this or that, is something. It is the same with all 
use, because use is good. Use, unless it be determined to 
something with which it may be a one, is not use; therefore it 
is not any thing. Use derives its being something from the 
understanding, and that which is thence conjoined or adjoined 
to use has relation to truth: from this use derives its quality. 
From these few hints it may appear that good without truth is 
not any thing; therefore, that neither is truth without good 
any thing. It is said that good with truth, and truth with good, 
are something; hence it follows, that evil with false, and false 
with evil, are not any thing: for the latter are opposite to the 
former, and opposition destroys; in the present case, it de- 
stroys that which is something. But more of this in what 
follows. 

12. But there exists a marriage of good and truth in the 
cause, and there exists a marriage of good and truth from the 
cause in the effect. The marriage of good and truth in the — 
cause, is the marriage of the will and the understanding, or of 
love and wisdom : in all that a man wills and thinks, and which 
he thence concludes and intends, there is this marriage. This 
marriage enters the effect and produces it; but in carrying into 
effect, these two appear distinct: because then what is simulta- 
neous constitutes what is successive; as whena man wills and 
thinks to be nourished, to be clothed, to have a dwelling, to do 
any business or work, or to converse, he first wills and thinks 
at the same time, or concludes upon and intends, and when he 
has determined them to effect, then one thing succeeds after 
another ; but still they continually make one in the will and in 
the thought. The uses in these effects belong to love or good, 
and the means for obtaining the uses belong to the understand- 
ing or truth. These general views any one may confirm by 
particulars, if he but distinctly perceive what has relation to 

9 


19-214 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


the good of love and what to the truth of wisdom, and also dis- 
pecey perceive how it is referable to the cause and how to the 
ellect. 

13. It has occasionally been said, that love makes the life of 
man; but love separate from wisdom, or good separate from 
truth in the cause, is not meant; because love separate, or good 
separate, is not any thing: wherefore the love which makes the 
inmost life of man, which is from the Lord, is love and wisdom 
together. Neither also is the love, which makes the life of man 
so far as he is a recipient, separated in the cause, but in the 
effect ; for love cannot be understood without its quality, and 
its quality is wisdom. Quality or wisdom cannot exist except 
from its esse, which is love; hence it is that they are one; and 
it is the same with good and truth. Now since truth is from 
good, as wisdom is from love, therefore both taken together are 
called love or good; for love in its form is wisdom, and good in 
its form is truth: from its form and from no other source is all 
its quality. Hereby then it may appear that good is not in the 
least good, any further than as it is united to its truth, and 
that truth is not in the least truth, any further than as it is 
united to its good. 

14. VI. That the good of love not United to the truth of 
wisdorr is not good in itself, but only apparent good ; and that the 
truth of wisdom not united to the good of love is not truth in atself, 
but only apparent truth. The truth is, that there does not exist 
any good which is good in itself, unless it be united to its truth, 
nor any truth which is true in itself unless it be united to its 
good ; nevertheless, there does exist good separate from truth, 
and truth separate from good: this is m hypocrites and flatter- 
ers, in all the wicked whatsoever, and in those who are in na- 
tural good and not in spiritual good. These can do good to the 
church, to their country, to society, to their fellow-citizens, to 
the needy, the poor, and to widows and orphans ; and they can 
also understand truths, from the understanding think them, 
and from thought speak and teach them. But still, not being 
from interior principles of good and truth, neither these good 
deeds nor truths are really such in the persons just mentioned, 
but are only such outwardly, and therefore merely in appear- 
ance; because they are only for the sake of self and the world, 
and not for the sake of good itself and truth itself, conse- 
quently not grounded in good and truth. Hence they are only 
of the mouth and of the body, and not of the heart; and may 
be compared to gold and silver enclosing dross, or rotten wood 
or dung; and truths thus uttered may be compared to respired 
air which is dispersed, or to an ignis-fatuus which vanishes. 
Still they outwardly appear as genuine; and though they are 
only apparent with those who speak them, they may seem other- 
wise to those who hear and receive them, and to whom this is 

10 


_ THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 14-16 


unknown ; for what is external affects every one according to 
his internal, because truth enters, from whatever mouth it be 
uttered, into the hearing of another, and is received by the 
mind according to its state and quality. With those who are 
hereditarily in natural good, and in no spiritual good, the case 
is nearly similar; for the internal of all good and of all truth 
is spiritual, and this shakes off falsities and evils; but the 
natural principle alone favors them, and to favor evils and fal- 
sities and to do good do not accord. , 

15. The ground and reason why good can be separated from 
truth, and truth from good, and when separated still appear as 
good and truth, is, because man has a faculty of acting, which 
is called liberty, and a faculty of understanding, which is called 
rationality ; from the abuse of which faculties man can appear 
different in externals from what he is in internals; therefore a 
wicked man can do good and speak truth, or the devil can imi- 
tate an angel of light. But on this subject see the following 
propositions in the treatise on Tar Divine Love anp tur Dr 
vinE Wispom. That the origin of evil is from the abuse of 
the faculties which are proper to man, and are called rationality 
and liberty, n. 264—270. That these two faculties exist as well 
in the wicked as in the good, n. 425. That love without a mar- 
riage with wisdom, or good without a marriage with truth, 
cannot do any thing, n. 401. That love does nothing but in 
conjunction with wisdom or the understanding, n. 409. That 
love joins itself to wisdom or the understanding, and causes 
wisdom or the understanding to be reciprocally joined to it, 
n. 410, 411, 412. That wisdom or the understanding, by means 
of the power given it by love, can be elevated, and perceive 
the things which are of the light from heaven, and receive them, 
n. 413. That love can in like manner be elevated, and receive 
the things which are of the heat from heaven, if it loves its 
consort wisdom in that degree, n. 414, 415. That otherwise 
love draws down wisdom or the understanding from its elevation, 
that it may act as one with it, n. 416—418. That love is puri- 
fied in the understanding, if they are elevated together, n. 419 
—421. That love purified by wisdom in the understanding be- 
comes spiritual and celestial ; but that love defiled in the under- 
standing becomes sensual and corporeal, n. 422494. That it 
is the same with charity and faith and their conjunction, as it 
is with love and wisdom and their conjunction, n. 427—430. 
What charity is in heaven, n. 431. 

16. VII. That the Lord does not suffer any thing to be 
divided ; therefore it must cither be in good and at the same time 
in truth, or it must be in evil and at the same time in falsity. The 
divine providence of the Lord has especially for its end, and 
operates, that man may be in good and at the same time in 
truth, since thereby he is his own good and his own love, and 

pia 


16, 17 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


also his own truth and his own wisdom; for by this man is man, 
being in such case an image of the Lord. But because man, 
while he lives in the world, can be in good and at the same time 
in falsity, likewise in evil and at the same time in truth, yea, 
can be in evil and at the same time in good, and thus as it 
were a double man; and since this division destroys that image, 
and consequently the man; therefore the divine providence of 
the Lord, in all and singular its operations, is directed against 
the existence of such division. Because, also, it is less hurtful 
to man to be in evil and at the same time in falsity, than to be 
in good and at the same time in evil, therefore the Lord per- 
mits the former, not as willing it, but as not able to resist it 
consistently with the end in view, which is salvation. The 
reason why man can be in evil and at the same time in truth, 
and why the Lord cannot resist it, on account of the end, which 
is salvation, is, because the understanding of man can be ele- 
vated into the light of wisdom, and see truths, or acknowledge 
them when he hears them, his love at the same time remaining 
below. Thus he can be with his understanding in heaven, but 
with his love in hell; and to be so, cannot be denied him, be- 
cause the two faculties of rationality and liberty, by which he 
is man, and is distinguished from beasts, and by which alone 
he can be regenerated, and consequently saved, cannot be taken 
away from him. For by them man can act according to wisdom, 
and also according to the love not of wisdom, and from the 
wisdom above can see the love beneath; thus he can see his 
own thoughts, intentions, affections, and therefore the evils 
and falsities, as well as the goods and truths of his life and 
doctrine, without a knowledge and acknowledgment of which 
in himself he cannot be reformed. Of these two faculties 
something has already been said, and more will be said in what 
follows. This is the reason why man can be in good and at the 
same time in truth, also in evil and at the same time in falsity, 
and likewise in both alternately. 

17. Man can with difficulty in this world come into either 
the one or the other conjunction or union, that is, of good and 
truth, or of evil and falsity ; for so long as he lives here, he is 
kept in a state of reformation or regeneration. But after death 
every man comes into the one or the other, because he is then 
no longer in a state to be reformed and regenerated: he then 
remains such as his life has been in the world, that is, such as 
his ruling love has been. Therefore, if his life has been a life 
of the love of evil, every truth which he has acquired in this 
world from masters, preaching, or the Word, is taken away 
from him; and, being taken away, he imbibes the falsity 
which accords with his evil as a sponge does water. On the 
other hand, if his life has been a life of love and good, every 
falsity which he has imbibed by hearing or by reading in the 

12 . 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 17—19 


world, and which he has not confirmed in himself, is removed, 
and in its place is given truth which accords with his good. This 
is meant by these words of the Lord, “Take the talent from 
him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents; for unto every 
one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance ; but 
from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he 
hath” (Matt. xxv. 28, 295; xiii. 12; Mark iv. 25; Luke viii. 18; 
xix. 24—26). 

18. The reason why every one after death must either be in 
good and at the same time in truth, or in evil and at the same 
time in falsity, is, because good and evil cannot be joined, 
neither good and at the same time the falsity of evil, nor evil 
and at the same time the truth of good, for they are opposites, 
and opposites combat each other, until one destroys the other 
‘They who are in evil and at the same time in good, are under- 
stood by these words of the Lord to the church of Laodicea in 
the Apocalypse: “I know thy works, that thou art neither 
cold nor hot ; I would thou wert either cold or hot; but because 
thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee 
out of my mouth” (iii. 15, 16). Also by these words of the 
Lord : ‘“‘ No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate 
the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and 
despise the other” (Matt. vi. 24). 

19. VIL Lhat that which is in good and at the same time 
in truth, s something ; and that that which is in evil and at the 
same time in falsity, is not any thing. That that which is in 
good and at the same time in truth, is something, may be seen 
above, n. 11; thence it follows, that what is evil and at the 
same time false is not any thing. By not being any thing, is 
meant that it has no power, and nothing of spiritual life. They 
who are in evil and at the same time in falsity, all of whom are 
in hell, have indeed power among themselves; for a wicked 
spirit can do evil, and also does do evil a thousand ways. 
Nevertheless he can only from a principle of evil do evil to ~ 
the wicked, but cannot in the least do evil to the good; or if 
he does evil to the good, which sometimes is the case, it is by 
conjunction with their evil; thence come temptations, which 
are infestations arising from evil spirits about a man, and 
consequent combats, whereby the good may be delivered from 
their evils. As the wicked have no power, the universal hell 
before the Lord is not only as nothing, but it is really nothing 
as to power: that it is so, I have seen confirmed by much 
experience. It is wonderful, however, that all the wicked think 
themselves powerful, and all the good think themselves not 
powerful. ‘The reason of which is, that the wicked attribute 
every thing to self-derived prudence,—therefore to cunning and 
malice, and nothing to the Lord; while the good attribute 


19-27 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


nothing to self-derived prudence, but every thing to the Lord, 
who is omnipotent. Another reason why evil and its attendant 
falsity are not any thing, is, because they have no spiritual life ; 
and this is the reason why the life of the infernals is not called 
life, but death: wherefore since every something appertains to. 
life, there cannot be any thing appertaining to death. 

20. They who are in evil and at the same time in truths, 
may be compared to eagles which soar aloft, but, when their 
wings are taken away, fall down. For men do the same after 
death, when they become spirits. They who understood truths, 
spake them, and taught them, and yet had no regard to God in 
their life, elevate themselves on high by their intellectual powers, 
and sometimes enter heaven, and feign themselves angels of 
light; but when truths are taken away from them, and they 
are sent forth, they fall down into hell. Eagles also, signify 
men of rapine, who have intellectual sight, and wings signify 
spiritual truths. It was said, that they are such who had no 
respect to God in their life: by having respect to God in their 
life, is meant nothing else but to think this or that evil a sin 
against God, and therefore not to do it. 

91. IX. That the Divine Providence of the Lord causes evil 
and its attendant falsity to serve for equilibrium, relation, and 
purification, and thereby for the conjunction of good and truth in 
others. From the foregoing considerations it may appear, that 
the Divine Providence of the Lord continually operates, that in 
man truth may be united to good and good to truth, because 
this union is the church and is heaven; for this union is in the 
Lord, and is in every thing that proceeds from the Lord. From 
this union it is, that heaven is called a marriage, and also the 
church, and hence the kingdom of God in the Word is likened 
toa marriage. From this union it is, that the sabbath in the 
Tsraelitish church was the most holy worship, for it signified 
this union. Hence also it is, that in the Word, and in all and 
every thing therein, there is a marriage of good and truth ; on 
which subject see Tue Docrrmne or tHE New JrrvusateM 
CONCERNING THE SacrEeD ScrierurE, n. 80—90. The mar- 
riage of good and truth is from the marriage of the Lord with 
the church, and the latter from the marriage of love and wisdom 
in the Lord: for good is of love, and truth is of wisdom. Hence 
it may be seen, that it is the perpetual object of the Divine 
Providence to unite in man good to truth and truth to good ; 
for so man is united to the Lord. 

92, But as many have broken and do break this marriage, 
especially by the separation of faith from charity,—for faith is 
of truth, and truth is of faith, and charity is of good, and good 
is of charity,—and thereby conjoin in themselves evil and fal- 
sity, and thus have become, and do become, opposite, it is pro- 


» 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 9925 


vided of the Lord that these nevertheless may serve for the con- 
junction of good and truth in others, by equilibrium, by relation, 
and by purification. 

23. The conjunction of good and truth in others is provided 
for of the Lord by equelibriwm between heaven and hell; for 
from hell continually exhale evil and its concomitant false, 
‘but from heaven continually exhale good and its concomitant 
truth; and every man is kept in this equilibrium as long as he 
lives in the world, and is thus in the liberty of thinking, will- 
ing, speaking, and acting, in which he may be reformed. Con- 
cerning this spiritual equilibrium, from which is derived the 
liberty of man, see the work on Heaven anp Het, n. 589— 
596, and n. 597—G08. 

24. The conjunction of good and truth is provided for of 
the Lord by relation ; for good is not known as to its quality, 
but by relation to what is less good, and by opposition to evil. 
All the perceptive and sensitive principles are thence derived, 
because their quality is thence; for thus all delight is perceived 
and felt from what is less delightful, and by what is disagree- 
able; all beauty from what is less beautiful, and by what is 
ugly ; in like manner, all good which is of love from what is 
less good, and by evil; and all truth which is of wisdom from 
what is less true, and by what is false. There must be variety 
in every thing, from its greatest to its least; and when there is 
variety also in its opposite, from its least to its greatest, and 
equilibrium intercedes, then according to the degrees on both 
sides relation is established, and the perception or sensation of 
the thing either increases or is diminished. . But it is to be noted, 
that what is opposite may take away, and also may exalt per- 
ceptions and sensations; it takes them away when it mixes it- 
self, and exalts them when it does not mix itself: on which 
account the Lord exquisitely separates good and evil, lest 
they should be mixed, in man, as he separates heaven and 
hell. 3 

25. The conjunction of good and truth in others is provided 
for of the Lord by purification, which is effected in two ways,— 
in one by temptations, and in the other by fermentations. 
Spiritual temptations are no other than combats against evils 
and falsities, which are exhaled from hell and affect; by them 
man is purified from evils and falsities, and in him good is 
joined to truth, and truth to good. Spiritual fermentations are 
effected many ways, as well in the heavens as in the earths ; 
but in the world it is not known what they are, and how they 
are effected : for they are evils and corresponding falsities, which, 
being let in upon societies, act like ferments put into meal and 
fermentable liquors, by which heterogeneous things are sepa- 
rated, and homogeneous things are conjoined and become pure 
and clear. This is what is understood by these words of the 

15 | 


Dh ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


Lord, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a 
woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole 
was leavened” (Matt. xiii. 833; Luke xii. 21). 

26. These uses are provided by the Lord from the conjunc- 
tion of evil and falsity, which is in those who are in hell; for 
the kingdom of the Lord, which is not only over heaven, but 
also over hell, is a kingdom of uses; and the Providence of the 
Lord is, that there should not be any person or any thing, from 
and by which use is not performed. 


THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE OF THE LORD HAS FOR ITS 
END A HEAVEN OUT OF THE HUMAN RACE. 


27. Twat heaven is not from any angels created such from 
the beginning, and that hell is not from any devil who was 
created an angel of light and cast out of heaven, but that hea- 
ven and hell are from the human race,—heaven from those who 
are in the love of good and thence in the understanding of 
truth, and hell from those who are in the love of evil and thence 
in the understanding of falsity,—has been made known and 
proved to me by a long intercourse with angels and spirits ; 
concerning which see also what is shown in the work on Hxa- 
ven AND Hetr, n. 311—816; as well as in the tract on Tus 
Last Jupement, n. 1427; and in the ContTrINvaTIon coNn- 
CERNING THE Last Jup@menr AND THE SpreiruaL Worzp, 
from beginning to end. Now, since heaven is from the human 
race, and heaven is a dwelling with the Lord to eternity, it 
follows that that was the end of creation intended by the Lord 5 
and as it was the end of creation, it is the end of his divine 
providence. The Lord did not create the universe for his own 
sake, but for the sake of those with whom he will dwell in hea- 
ven; for spiritual love is such, that it wishes to give what it has 
to another, and in proportion as it can do this, it is in its esse, 
in its peace, and in its blessedness. This property spiritual love 
derives from the divine love of the Lord, which possesses it in 
an infinite degree. Hence it follows, that the divine love, and 
consequently the divine providence, has for its end a heaven, 
which may consist of men made angels, and who are making 
such, to whom the Lord can give all the beatitudes and felicities 
which belong to love and wisdom, and give them out of himself 
in them. Nor can he do otherwise; because his image and 
likeness from creation is in them. His image in them is wis- 
dom, and his likeness in them is love; and the Lord in them is 
love united to wisdom and wisdom united to love, or what is the 

16 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 27, 28 


same, he is good united to truth, and truth united to good; 
which union was treated of in the preceding article. But as it 
is not known what heaven is in general or in many, and what 
heaven is in particular or in one; or what heaven is in the 
spiritual world, and what heaven is in the natural world, and 
a it is important to know this, because it is the end of the 
ivine Providence, therefore I am desirous to place this subject 
in some degree of light, in the following order. J. That heaven 
is conjunction with the Lord. II. That a man by creation is 
such, that he can be more and more nearly conjoined to the 
Lord. Ul. That a man becomes wiser in proportion as he is 
more nearly conjoined to the Lord. IV. That a man becomes 
happier in proportion as he is more nearly conjoined to the 
Lord. V. That a man, in proportion as he is more nearly con- 
joined to the Lord, appears to himself more distinctly to be at 
his own disposal, and yet perceives more evidently that he is 
the Lord’s. 
— 28. I. That heaven is conjunction with the Lord. TWeaven 
is not heaven from the angels, but from the Lord; for the love 
and wisdom, in which the angels are, and which constitute 
heaven, are not from them, but from the Lord, and are really 
the Lord in them. And since love and wisdom, which are of 
the Lord, and are the Lord in heaven, constitute the life of the 
augels, it is evident that their life is of the Lord, and indeed 
that it is the Lord. That they live from the Lord, the angels 
themselves confess. Hence it may appear that heaven is con- 
junction with the Lord. But as the conjunction with the 
Lord is various, and consequently one has not the same heaven 
as another, it also follows, that heaven is according to conjunc- 
tion with the Lord. That there is a conjunction nearer and 
nearer, and also one more and more remote, will be seen in the 
following article. At present we shall state how that conjunc- 
tion is effected, and what itis. There is a conjunction of the 
Lord with the angels, and of the angels with the Lord, and - 
thus a reciprocal conjunction. The Lord flows into the life’s 
love of the angels, and the angels receive the Lord in wisdom, 
and by this in their turn conjoin themselves to the Lord. But 
it is to be well observed, that it appears to the angels. as if they 
conjoined themselves to the Lord by wisdom, when nevertheless 
the Lord conjoins them by wisdom to himself; for their wisdom 
is also from the Lord. It is the same if it is said, that the 
Lord conjoins himself to the angels by good, and that the 
angels in their turn conjoin themselves to the Lord by truth ; 
for all good is of love, and all truth is of wisdom. But as this 
reciprocal conjunction is an arcanum, which few can understand 
unless it be explained, I will unfold it, so far as it can be done, 
by such things as may be comprehended. Jn the treatise con- 
“et Tue Divine Love anp tHe Dryine Wispom, n. 404, 
1 


28, 29 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


405, it is shown in what manner love conjoins itself to wisdom, 
viz., by the affection of knowing, whence is derived the aftec- 
tion of truth; by the affection of understanding, from which 
is derived the perception of truth; and by the affection of 
seeing that which is known and understood, from which is de- 
rived thought. The Lord flows into all these affections, which 
are derivations from the life’s love of every one; and the angels 
receive that ‘influx in the perception of truth, and in thought ; 
for in these the influx appears to them, but not in the affections. 
Now as perceptions and thoughts appear to the angels as if they 
were their own, although they are trom affections, which are 
from the Lord, therefore there is still an appearance that the 
angels reciprocally conjoin themselves to the Lord, when never- 
theless the Lord conjoins them to himself; for affection itself 
produces such perceptions and thoughts, affection, which is of 
love, being the soul of them; for no one can perceive and think 
any thing without affection, and every one perceives and thinks 
according to affection ; from which it is evident, that the reci- 
procal conjunction of the angels with the Lord is not from them, 
but only seems to be from them. Such a conjunction also the 
Lord has with the church, and the church with the Lord, and 
it is called the celestial and spiritual marriage. 

99. All conjunction in the spiritual world is effected by 
inspection. When any one there thinks of another from the 
affection of speaking with him, the other immediately becomes 
Ren and one sees the other face to face. The same thing 
1appens when any one thinks of another from the affection of 
love; but by this affection conjunction is produced, and by the 
other presence only. This is peculiar to the spiritual world ; 
the reason of which is, that all there are spiritual. It is not so 
in the natural world, in which all are material. In the natural 
world, the same takes place with men in the affections and 
thoughts of their spirit ; but as in the natural world there are 
spaces, while in the spiritual world spaces are only appearances, 
therefore in the latter that which has place in the thought of 
any spirit is actually effected. These things are stated, in order 
that it may be known in what manner is effected the conjunction 
of the Lord with the angels, and also the apparent reciprocal 
conjunction of the angels with the Lord ; for all the angels turn 
their faces to the Lord, and the Lord looks at them in the fore- 
head, and the angels direct their eyes towards the Lord. The 
reason is, because the forehead corresponds to love and its affec- 
tions, and the eyes correspond to wisdom and its perceptions. 
Yet the angels from themselves do not turn their faces to the 
Lord, but the Lord turns them to himself; he turns them by 
influx into their life’s love, and by it enters into their percep- 
tions and thoughts, and so converts them. Such a circulation 
of the love to the thoughts, and from the thoughts to the love 

18 


TEE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 299—39 


from love, has place in all the human mind; which circulation 
or circle may be called the circle of life. On this subject see 
some particulars also in the treatise on Tae Divine Love axp 
THE Divinr Wispom; as, That the angels constantly turn 
their faces to the Lord as the sun, n. 129-134. That all the 
interiors both of the minds and of the bodies of angels are in 
like manner turned to the Lord as a sun, n. 1385—139. That 
every spirit, of whatsoever quality, in like manner turns him. 
self to his ruling love, n. 140—145. That love conjoins itself 
to wisdom, and causes wisdom to be reciprocally conjoined to it, 
n. 410—412. That the angels are in the Lord, and the Lord 
in them; and, forasmuch as the angels are recipients, that the 
Lord alone is heaven, n. 113—118. 

80. Lhe Lord’s heaven in the natural world is called the 
church, and an angel of this heaven is a man of the church 
who is conjoined to the Lord, and who also, after his departure 
out of the world, becomes an angel of the spiritual heaven: 
from which it is evident, that what is said of the angelic heaven, 
is to be understood of the human heaven, which is called the 
church. This reciprocal conjunction with the Lord, which con- 
stitutes heaven in man, is revealed by the Lord in these words 
in John: “ Abide in me, and I in you.” “ He that abideth in 
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for 
without me ye can do nothing” (xy. Ener pF 

31. Hence it may appear, that the Lord is heaven, not only 
in common to all, but also in particular to each individual 
there; for every angel is a heaven in its least form: and from 
as many heavens as there are angels, heaven in common exists, 
That this is the case may be seen in the work on HEAVEN AND 
Herr, n. 51—58. Let not then any one cherish this error, 
which enters into the first thoughts of many, that the Lord is 
in heaven among the angels, or that he is with them as a king 
is in his kingdom: as to appearance in the sun there, he is 
above them; but as to their life of love and wisdom, he is in 
them. 

32. Il. That a man by creation is such, that he can be more 
and more nearly conjoined to the Lord, may appear from what is 
shown concerning degrees, in the treatise on Tur Divine Love 
AND THE Divine Wispom, Part IIL., particularly from the fol- 
lowing articles : That there are three discrete degrees or degrees 
of altitude in a man by creation, n. 230—235. ‘That these three 
degrees are in every man by birth ; and that as they are opened, 
a man is in the Lord and the Lord in him, n. 236—241. And 
that all perfections increase and ascend with degrees, and accord- 
ing to them, n. 199—204. From which it is evident, that a man 
by creation is such, that by degrees he can be more and more 
nearly conjoined to the Lord. But it should be well understood 
what degrees are; that they are of two kinds—discrete degrees 

19 Cc 


32, 33 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


or degrees of altitude, and continuous degrees or degrees of 
latitude; and what is the difference between them: also, that 
every man by creation, and thence by birth, has three discrete 
degrees or degrees of altitude ; that he comes into the first 
degree, which is called the natural degree, when he is born; 
and that he can increase this degree in himself by continuity, 
till he becomes rational; that he comes into the second, which 
is called the spiritual degree, if he live according to the spiritual 
laws of order, which are principles of divine truth; and that 
he may also come into the third or celestial degree, if he live 
according to the celestial laws of order, which are principles of 
divine good. These degrees are actually opened in a man by the 
Lord according to his life in the world, but not perceptibly and 
sensibly till after his departure out of the world; and as they 
are opened and afterwards perfected, so a man is more and more 
nearly conjoined to the Lord. This conjunction by nearer ap- 
proach may be increased to eternity, and indeed is increased in 
the angels to eternity; but still an angel cannot arrive at the 
first degree of the Lord’s love and wisdom, or attain it, because 
the Lord is infinite, and an angel is finite, and there is no 
proportion between infinite and finite. Since no one can 
understand the state of a man, and the state of his eleva- 
tion and approximation to the Lord, except he knows these 
degrees, therefore they are particularly treated of in the treatise 
on Tue Divine Love anp THE Divine Wispom, n. 1738—281 5 
which see. 

33. We shall briefly show how a man can be more nearly 
conjoined to the Lord, and then how that conjunction appears 
nearer and nearer. How aman is more and more nearly conjoined 
to the Lord: This is done, not by science alone, or by intelli- 
gence alone, or even by wisdom alone, but by a life conjoined 
+o them. ‘The life of a man is his love, and love is manifold. 
general there is a love of evil and a love of good. The love of 
evil is the love of adultery, revenge, fraud, blasphemy, and the 
depriving others of their goods. The love of evil, in thinking 
and in doing these, feels pleasure and delight. The derivations, 
which are affections of this love, are as many as there are evils 
to which it has determined itself; and the perceptions and 
thoughts of this love, are as many as there are falsities which 
favor those evils and confirm them. These falsities make one 
with the evils, as the understanding makes one with the will; and 
they are not separated from each other, because one is of the 
other. Now, as the Lord flows into the life’s love of every one, 
and by his affections into his perceptions and thoughts, and not 
vice Vers, as Was said above, it follows that he cannot conjoin 
himself more nearly than is permitted by the removal of the 
love of evil with its affections, which are lusts ; and as these 
reside in the natural man, and whatsoever a man does from the 

20 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 33, 34 


natural man, he feels as if he acted from himself, therefore he 
ought, as from himself, to remove the evils of his love, and 
then, in proportion as he removes them, the Lord approaches 
nearer, and joins himself to him. Any one may see from 
reason that lusts, with their delights, obstruct and shut the door 
against the Lord, and that they cannot be cast out by the Lord 
so long as a man himself keeps the door shut, and presses from 
without and prevents it from being opened. That a man himself 
ought to open it, is evident from the Lord’s words in the Reve- 
lation: “ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock ; if any man 
hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and 
will sup with him, and he with me” (iii. 20). Hence it is evi- 
dent, that in proportion as any one shuns evils as diabolical, and 
as obstacles to the Lord’s entrance, hé is more and more nearly 
conjoined to the Lord, and he the most nearly, who abominates 
them as so many black and fiery devils; for evil and the devil 
are one, and the falsity of evil and Satan are one; because as 
the influx of the Lord is into the love of good and its affections, 
and by these into the perceptions and thoughts, all which derive 
fromthe good in which a man is principled that which consti- 
tutes them truths—so the influx of the devil, that is, of hell, is 
into the love of evil and its affections, which are lusts, and by 
these into the perceptions and thoughts, all which derive from 
the evil in which a man is principled that which makes them 
falsities. How that conjunction appears nearer and nearer: In 
proportion as evils are removed in the natural man by shunning 
and turning away from them, in such proportion a man is more 
nearly conjoined to the Lord. And as love and wisdom, which 
are the Lord himself, are not in space,—for affection which is of 
love, and thought which is of wisdom, have nothing in common 
with space,—therefore the Lord according to conjunction by love 
and wisdom appears nearer; and, on the contrary, according to 
the rejection of love and wisdom, more remote. Space does not - 
exist in the spiritual world, but in that world degrees of distance 
and presence are appearances according to similitudes and dissi- 
militudes of affections; for as before said, affections which are of 
love, and thoughts which are of wisdom and in themselves spl- 
ritual, are not in space ; on which subject see what is stated in 
the treatise on Toe Divine Love anv. tae Divine Wispom, 
in. 6—10, n. 69—72, and elsewhere. The conjunction of the 
Lord with a man, in whom evils are removed, is understood by 
these words of the Lord; “The pure in heart shall see God” 
(Matt. v. 8): and by these; “ He that hath my commandments, 
and keepeth them, I will make my abode with him.” To have 
his commandments is to know them, and _ to keep his command- 
ments is to love them; for it is also said there, “he who keepeth 
my commandments, he it is who loveth me.” 

34. I. That a man becomes wiser in proportion as he ts more 

21 


34, 35 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


nearly conjoined to the Lord. As there are three degrees of life 
in a man by creation, and thence by birth, as noticed above, n. 
32, there are in him especially three degrees of wisdom. These 
are the degrees which are opened in a man according to conjunc- 
tion; they are opened according to love, for love is conjunction 
itself, But the ascent of love according to degrees is not per- 
ceived except obscurely by a man, whereas the ascent of wisdom 
is clearly perceived in those who know and see what wisdom is. 
The reason why the degrees of wisdom are perceived, is, that 
love enters by the affections into the perceptions and thoughts, 
and these show themselves in the internal sight of the mind, 
which corresponds to the external sight of the body: hence it is 
that wisdom appears, and not so the affection of love which 
produces it. The case is the same with all things which are 
actually done by aman. It is perceived how the body effects 
them, but not how the soul does: so also it is perceived how 
a man meditates, perceives, and thinks, but not how the soul of 
his meditations, perceptions, and thoughts, which is the affection 
of good and truth, produces them. There are three degrees of 
wisdom—the natural, spiritual, and celestial. A man is in the 
natural degree of wisdom while he lives in the world. This 
degree then can be perfected in him to its height, and yet he 
cannot enter into the spiritual degree; because this degree 1S 
not continued from the natural degree by continuity, but is 
joined to it by correspondences. He is in the spiritual degree 
of wisdom after death; and this degree also is such, that it can 
be perfected to its height, but yet cannot enter the celestial 
degree of wisdom, because this degree also is not continued 
from the spiritual by continuity, but is joined to it by corre- 
spondences. Hence it may appear, that wisdom can be elevated 
in a triplicate ratio, and that in each degree it can be perfected 
in a simple ratio to its height. He who comprehends the eleva- 
tions and perfections of these degrees, can In some measure 
perceive what is said of angelic wisdom,—that it is ineffable. 
This also is so ineffable, that a thousand ideas of thought of the 
angels from their wisdom cannot present more than one idea of 
the thought of men from their wisdom ; thus nine hundred and 
ninety-nine ideas of the thought of angels cannot enter; for 
they are supernatural. That this is the case, it has often been 
given me to know by lively experience. But, as was said before, 
no one can come into that ineffable wisdom of the angels, but 
by conjunction with the Lord, and according to it; for the Lord 
only opens the spiritual degree and the celestial degree, and in 
those only who are wise from him ; and those are wise from the 
Lord, who cast out from themselves the devil, that is evil. 

35. But let not any one believe, that a person has wisdom 
because he knows many things, and perceives them in a certain 
light, and can speak of them intelligently, unless it be con- 

22 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 3D—s98 


Joined to love; for love by its affections produces it. If it is not 
conjoined to love, it is like a meteor in the air which vanishes, 
and like a falling star; but wisdom conjoined to love is like 
the permanent light of the sun, and like a fixed star. A man 
has the love of wisdom, in proportion as he has an aversion to 
the diabolical crew, which are the concupiscences of evil and 
falsity. 

36. Wisdom, which comes by or according to perception, 
is the perception of truth from the affection of it, especially 
the perception of spiritual truth ; for there are civil truth, moral 
truth, and spiritual truth. Those who are in the perception of 
spiritual truth from the affection of it, are also in the perception 
of moral and civil truth ; for the affection of spiritual truth is 
the soul of them. I have sometimes discoursed about wisdom 
with the angels, who said, that wisdom is conjunction with the 
Lord, because the Lord is wisdom itself; and that a man comes 
into that conjunction who rejects, and in the same proportion 
only as he rejects, hell from himself. They said, that they 
represented to themselves wisdom as a magnificent and highly 
adorned palace, to which there is an ascent by twelve steps ; 
and that no one comes to the first step, but from the Lord by 
conjunction with him; that every one ascends according to con- 
junction; and that as he ascends, he perceives that no one is 
wise from himself, but from the Lord; also, that the things 
concerning which he is wise, compared with those concerning 
which he is not, are as a few drops to a great lake. By the 
twelve steps to the palace of wisdom, are signified principles of 
good conjoined to those of truth, and principles of truth con- 
joined to those of good. 

Bf. IV. Lhat aman becomes happier in proportion as he és 
more nearly conjoined to the Lord. “The same things which are 
said above, n. 32, 33, 84, of the degrees of life and of wisdom 
according to conjunction with the Lord, may also be said of the - 
degrees of felicity ; for felicities or beatitudes and delights 
ascend, as the superior degrees of the mind, which are called 
spiritual and celestial, are opened inaman3; and these degrees, 
atter his life in the world, increase to eternity. 

38. No man who is in the delight of the concupiscences of 
evil can know any thing of the delight of the affections of good 
in which exists the angelic heaven; for these two kinds of 
delight are altogether opposite to each other in internals, and 
thence interiorly in externals, though in the surface itself there 
is but little difference. For every love has its delights, even the 
love of evil in those who are in concupiscences; as the love of 
committing adultery, of revenge, fraud, theft, outrage, and, in the 
most wicked, the love of blaspheming the holy things of the 
church, and spitting out their virulence against God. The 
source of these delights is the love of dominion from the love of 

2 


38—40 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


self, These delights are from the concupiscences which possess 
the interiors of the mind, flow from them into the body, and 
there excite uncleannesses, which titillate the fibres. Thus, 
from the delight of the mind, according to its concupiscences, 
arises delight of the body. Of what kind the unclean things 
are, which titillate the fibres of the body, it is given every one 
to know, after death, in the spiritual world. They are in general 
cadaverous, excrementitious, stercoraceous, nidorous, and urin- 
ous matters ; for the hells abound with such unclean things ; and 
that they are correspondences, see some passages in the treatise 
on Tue Divixe Love anp THE Divine ‘Wispom, n. 422, 
493, 424. But such foul delights, after the subjects of them 
enter into hell, are turned into direful punishments. These 
things are stated, that the nature of the felicity of heaven, 
which is now to be spoken of, may be better understood ; for 
every thing is known from its opposite. 

39. The beatitudes, blessednesses, delights, and pleasant- 
nesses,—in a word, the felicities of heaven, cannot be described 
in words, though in heaven they can be perceived by the sense ; 
for what is perceived by the sense alone cannot be described, 
because it does not come within the ideas of thought, or con- 
sequently into words : since the understanding alone sees, and 
sees the things which are of wisdom or of truth, but not the 
things which are of love or of good; therefore those felicities 
are inexpressible. Butstill they ascend ina similar degree with 
wisdom; the varieties of them are infinite, and each of these 
ineffable. This [have heard, and have perceived. These felici- 
ties, however, enter as a man removes the concupiscences of the 
love of evil and falsity, as if of himself, but nevertheless of the 
Lord; for they are the felicities of the affections of good and truth, 
which are opposite to the concupiscences of the love of evil and 
falsity. The felicities of the affections of good and truth begin 
from the Lord, therefore from the inmost, thence diffusing 
themselves to the inferiors, even to the ultimates, and so filling 
the angel, and causing him to be as it were all delight. Such 
felicities, with infinite varieties, are in every affection of good 
and truth, especially in the affection of wisdom. 

40. The delights of the concupiscences of evil, and those of 
the affections of good, cannot be compared ; because the devil 
is inwardly in the delights of the concupiscences of evil, and the 
Lord is inwardly in the delights of the affections of good. If 
they are to be compared, the delights of the concupiscences of 
evil can only be compared with the lascivious delights of frogs in 
stagnant waters, and of serpents in stenches; but the delights 
of the affections of good may be compared to those of the mind 
in gardens and shrubberies. or things similar to what affect 
frogs and serpents, affect also those in the hells who are in the 
concupiscences of evil; and things similar to what affect the mind 

24 


’ 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 40—48 


in gardens and shrubberies, affect also those in the heavens who 
are in the affections of good: because, as was said above, corre- 
spondent unclean things affect the wicked, and correspondent 
clean things affect the good. 

41. Hence it may appear, that in proportion as any one is 
more nearly conjoined to the Lord, he becomes happier. But 
this happiness rarely manifests itself in the world, because a man 
is then in a natural state, and what is natural does not commu- 
nicate with what is spiritual by continuity, but by correspond- 
ences; and this communication is only felt by a certain quiet 
and peace of mind, which is especially produced after combats 
against evils. When, however, a man puts off the natural and 
enters into the spiritual state, as is the case after his departure 
out of the world, then the felicity above described successively 
manifests itself. 

49, V. That a man, in proportion as he is more nearly con- 
joined to the Lord, appears to himself to be more distinctly at his 
own disposal, and percewwes more evidently that he is the Lord’s. 
In judging from appearance, it might be supposed, that the 
nearer any one is conjoined to the Lord, the less he is free, or 
at his own disposal. There is such an appearance with all the 
wicked, as well as with those who believe from religion that they 
are not under the yoke of the law, and that no one can do good 
from himself; for both these sorts of persons can see no other- 
wise, than that, not to be at liberty to think and to will evil, but 
only good, is not to be at one’s own disposal; and they conclude 
from the appearance in themselves, that because those who are 
conjoined to the Lord neither will nor can think and will evil, 
therefore this is to be not at their own disposal; when, never- 
theless, it is altogether the contrary. 

43. There is infernal liberty, and there is celestial liberty. 
To think and to will evil, and, so far as civil and moral laws do not 
prevent, to speak and to do it, is from infernal liberty ; but to think 
and to will good, and, as far as opportunity is given, to speak ~ 
and to do it, is from celestial liberty. Wehatsoever a man thinks, 
wills, speaks, and does, from freedom, he perceives as his own, 
tor a man derives all liberty from his love. Those therefore who 
are in the love of evil, perceive no otherwise, than that infernal 
liberty is real liberty, while those who are in the love of good, 
perceive that celestial liberty is real liberty ; and to each, con- 
sequently, the opposite appears to be servitude: yet it cannot be 
denied that only one of the two is liberty, for two kinds of 
liberty, in themselves opposite, cannot both be liberty; nor can 
it be denied that to be led by good is liberty, and to be led by 
evil is servitude ; for to be led by good is to be led by the Lord, 
and to be led by evil is to be led by the devil. Now since every 
thing which a man does from freedom or liberty, appears to him 


as his own,—for, as was said above, it is of his love, and to act 
25 
a! 


48—45 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


from his love is to act from liberty,—it follows, that conjunction 
with the Lord causes a man to appear to himself free, conse- 
quently at his own disposal; and the nearer his conjunction with 
the Lord is, the more free he appears, consequently the more at 
his own disposal. The reason why he appears to himself more 
distinctly at his own disposal, is, that such is the Divine Love, 
that what is its own it wills to be another’s, therefore to be men’s 
and angels’: all spiritual love is such, and especially Divine 
Love. Besides, the Lord never forces any one, because nothing 
to which any one is forced appears as his own, and what does 
not appear as his own cannot be made of his love, and so appro- 
priated as his own. A man therefore is led by the Lord continu- 
ally in freedom, and is also reformed and regenerated in freedom. 
But on this subject more will be said in what follows; and 
something also may be seen above, n. 4. 

44, The reason, however, why a man, the more distinctly he 
appears to himself at his own disposal, the more evidently per- 
ceives that he is the Lord’s, is, that in proportion as he is more 
nearly conjoined to the Lord, he becomes wiser, as was shown 
above, n. 84, 85, 86; and wisdom teaches this, and he also 
perceives it. The angels of the third heaven, because they are 
the wisest of the angels, also perceive this, and likewise call it 
liberty itself; but to be led by themselves they call servitude. 
They declare also the reason of this, namely, that the Lord 
does not flow immediately into the things which are of their 
perception and thought from wisdom, but into the affections of 
the love of good, and through the latter into the former; that 
they perceive the influx in the affection from which is derived 
their wisdom; that then all which they think from wisdom 
appears as from themselves, therefore as their own ; and that by 
this reciprocal conjunction is effected. 

45. As the Divine Providence of the Lord has for its end a 
heaven out of the human race, it follows that it has for its end the 
conjunction of the human race with him, concerning which see 
n. 28—31; also, that it has for its end that a man may be more 
and more nearly conjoined to him (see n. 82, 33), for thus he 
enters an interior heaven: also, that it has for its end, that a 
man by such conjunction may become wiser (see n. 34, 35, 36); 
and that he may become happier (see n. 87—41); because a man 
possesses heaven from wisdom, and according to it; and by it 
also felicity : and lastly, that it has for its end, that a man may 
appear to himself more distinctly as his own, and yet may per- 
ceive more evidently that he is the Lord’s (see n. 42, 48, 44). 
All these things are of the Divine Providence of the Lord, 
because all these things constitute heaven, which is the end 
proposed. 


26 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 46 


THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE OF THE LORD, IN ALL THAT IT 
DOES, HAS RESPECT TO WHAT IS INFINITE AND ETERNAL, 


46. It is well known in the Christian world, that God is 
infinite and eternal; for in the doctrine of the trinity, which 
has its name from Athanasius, it is said that God the Father is 
infinite, eternal, and omnipotent; in like manner, God the Son, 
and God the Holy Ghost; and that nevertheless there are not 
three Infinites, Eternals, and Omnipotents, but one. From 
this it follows, that as God is infinite and eternal, nothing but 
infinite and eternal can be predicated of God. But what infinite 
and eternal is, cannot be comprehended by finite beings, and 
yet it can: it cannot be comprehended, because finite is not 
capable of infinite; and yet it can be comprehended, because 
there are abstract ideas given, by which it can be seen that 
things exist, though not what is their quality. Such ideas are 
given of infinite, as, that God, because he is infinite, or the 
Divine, because it is infinite, is Asse itself; that it is essence and 
substance itself; that it is love itself and wisdom itself, or that 
it is good itself and truth itself; therefore that it is itself, yea, 
that it is man himself: then also if it be said that infinite is 
all,—that Infinite Wisdom is Omniscience, and Infinite Power is 
Omnipotence. Still, however, these things fall but obscurely 
within the thought, and from being incomprehensible perhaps” 
come to be denied; unless the things which thought derives 
from nature be abstracted from the idea, especially what it 
derives from those two things proper to nature, space and time ; 
for these cannot but terminate ideas, and cause abstract ideas 
to be as nothing. But if these can be abstracted by a man as 
they are by an angel, then infinite can be comprehended by 
means of the things above mentioned; and it can also be compre- 
hended that a man is something, because he was created by an 
infinite God who is all; and that a man is a finite substance, 
because he was created by an infinite God, who is substance 
itself; also, that a man is wisdom, because he was created by an 
infinite God who is wisdom itself, and so on; for unless the 
infinite God were all, substance itself, and wisdom itself, a man 
would not be any thing; therefore he would either be nothing, 
or only an idea of being, according to those visionaries who are 
called idealists. From what is shown in the treatise on Tur 
Divine Love snp tHe Divine Wispom, it is evident, that 
the Divine Essence is love and wisdom, n. 28—39. That the 
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom are substance itself and 
form itself; and that it is selfsubsisting and sole-subsisting, 
n. 40—46. And that God created the universe and all 
things therein from Himself, and not from nothing, n. 282, 
283, a Thence it follows, that every created thing, and 

2 


46—48 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


especially a man, and in him love and wisdom, are something, 
and not merely an idea of being; for if God was not infinite, 
there would be no finite; also, if infinite was not all, there 
would not be any thing: and if God had not created all things 
out of Himself, there would be nothing; in a word, WE ARE 
BECAUSE GOD IS. 

47. Now, as the Divine Providence is the subject here 
treated of, and it is intended in this article to show how it has 
respect, in all that it does, to what is infinite and eternal, and 
as this cannot be set forth distinctly except in a certain order ; 
therefore the order shall be as follows: I. That what is infinite 
in itself and eternal in itself is the same as what is divine. II. 
That what is infinite and eternal in itself cannot but have respect 
to what is infinite from itself in finites. II. That the Divine 
Providence, in all that it does, has respect to what is infinite 
and eternal from itself, especially in saving the human race. 
IV. That an image of what is infinite and eternal exists in the 
angelic heaven from the human race saved. V. That to have 
respect to what is infinite and eternal in forming the angelic 
heaven, in order that it may be before the Lord as one man, 
the image of himself, is the inmost end or purpose of the Divine 
Providence. 

48. I. That what ts infinite in itself and eternal in itself vs 
the same as what is divine, may appear from what is shown in 
many places in the treatise on Tue Divine Love anp THE 
Drvive Wispom. That what is infinite in itself and eternal in 
itself is divine, is grounded in the idea of the angels, they 
meaning by infinite no other than the divine esse, and by eternal 
the divine existere. But that what is infinite in itself and 
eternal in itself is divine, can be seen, and yet cannot be seen 
by men: it can be seen by those who think of infinite not from 
space, and of eternal not from time; but cannot be seen 
by those who think of infinite and eternal from space and 
time: therefore it can be seen by those who think more ele- 
vatedly, that is, more interiorly in the rational mind; but it 
cannot be seen by those whose thought is lower, that is, more 
exterior. Those, by whom it can be seen, think that infinity of 
space cannot exist, nor therefore infinity of time, which is 
eternity from which all things began, because that which is 
infinite is without a first and last end, or without bounds. 
They think also, that neither can there exist infinite from itself, 
because from itself supposes a limit and beginning, or a prior 
from which it is derived; consequently, that it is a vain thing to 
speak of infinite and eternal from itself, because that would be 
like speaking of esse from itself, which is contradictory ; for 
infinite from itself would be infinite from infinite, and esse from 
itself would be esse from esse, and such infinite and esse would 
either be the same with infinite, or it would be finite. From 

28 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 4850 


these and similar considerations, which can be seen interiorly in 
the rational mind, it is evident that there exist infinite in itself, 
and eternal in itself, and that both together are the Divine, 
from which are all things. 

49. I know that many will say within themselves, How can 
any one comprehend interiorly in his rational mind any thing 
without space and without time; and that they not only are, 
but also that they constitute the all—the very thing from which 
all things are derived: but think interiorly, whether love or any 
affection thereof, or wisdom or any perception thereof, or even 
whether thought, is in space and in time; and you will find 
that they are not: and since the Divine is Love itself and 
Wisdom itself, it follows that the Divine cannot be conceived in 
space and in time, therefore neither can infinite. That this may 
be more clearly perceived, consider whether thought is in time 
and space. Suppose a progression of it during ten or twelve 
hours: may not this space of time appear as but of one or two 
hours, and may it not also appear as of one or two days? 
for it appears according to the state of the affection from which 
the thought is derived. If it is an affection of joy, in which 
time is not regarded, the thought of ten or twelve hours seems 
scarcely of one or two; but the reverse happens if the affection 
is of grief, in which time is attended to. Hence it is evident, 
that time is only an appearance according to the state of affec- 
tion from which thought is derived. It is the same with the 
distance of space in thought, whether in walking, or in going a 
journey. 

50. As angels and spirits are affections which are of love, 
and thoughts thence derived, consequently they also are not in 
space and time, but only in the appearance thereof. The ap- 
pearance of space and time is to them according to the states of 
the affections, and thence of the thoughts. Therefore, when 
any one thinks of another from affection, intently desiring to 
see him or speak with him, the other actually presents himself. 
Hence it is, that there are present with every man spirits who 
are in a similar affection with him,—evil spirits with him who 
is in the affection of similar evil, and good spirits with him 
who is in the affection of similar good; and they are as really 
present as any one can be with company shut up in the same 
room. Space and time contribute nothing to presence; because 
affection and its consequent thought are not in space and time, 
and spirits and angels are affections and thoughts derived from 
them. ‘That this is the case,it has been given me to know from 
lively experience of several years; and also from this circum-- 
stance, that I have conversed with many persons after death, as 
well with those in Europe and its various kingdoms, as with 
those in Asia and Africa, and their various kingdoms; and they 
were all near me: whereas, if they had been in space and time, 
FANN OG> = 


50—)2 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


a journey must have intervened, and time for that journey. 
Indeed, every man knows this to be the case from something 
inherent in himself or in his mind, as was proved to me by 
this consideration,—that no one thought of any distance of 
space, when I related that I had conversed with any person who 
died in Asia, Africa, or Europe,—as for example, with Calvin, 
Luther, Melancthon, or with any king, governor, or priest, in 
a remote country; and it did not even enter into any one’s 
thoughts to ask, How could he converse with those who lived 
there, and how could they come to him and be present, when 
nevertheless lands and seas intervene? JT’rom this consideration 
also it was evident to me, that no one thinks from space and 
time, when he thinks of those who are in the spiritual world. 
That, notwithstanding, they have an appearance of space and 
time there, may be seen in the work on Heaven anp He 1, n. 
162—169, 191—199. 

51. From these considerations then it may appear, that 
infinite and eternal, consequently the Lord, is to be thought of 
without space and time; and that he can be so thought of, like- 
wise that he is so thought of, by those who think interiorly in 
the rational mind; and that then infinite and eternal is the 


same with the Divine. Thus do angels and spirits think. By 


virtue of thought abstracted from time and space are compre- 
hended the Divine Omnipresence and the Divine Omnipotence, 
and likewise the Divine from eternity, and not at all by thought 
in which is included an idea from space and time. Hence it is 
evident, that we can think of God from eternity, but never of 
nature from eternity; consequently that we can think of the 
creation of the universe by God, but not any thing at all of 
creation from nature ; for space and time are proper to nature, 
but the Divine is without them. That the Divine is without 
space and time, may be seen in the treatise on Tue Divine 
Love anp THE Driving Wispom, n. 7—10, 69—72, 73—76, 
and elsewhere. 

52. Il. That what ts infinite and eternal in itself, cannot but 
have respect to what is infinite and eternal from ctself in jurites. 
By infinite and eternal in itself is meant the Divine itself, as 
was shown in the preceding article. By finites are meant all 
things created from the Divine, and especially men, spirits, and 
angels; and to have respect to what is infinite and eternal from 
itself, is to respect the Divine, that is, himself, in them, as a 
man respects or beholds his image in a glass. That this is the 
case, is abundantly shown in the treatise on Toe Drvine Love 
AND THE Divine Wisbdom, especially where it is demonstrated, 
that in the created universe there is an image of man, and that 
it is an image of what is infinite and eternal, n. 317, 318, there- 
fore an image of God the Creator, that is, of the Lord from 
eternity. But it is to be understood, that the Divine in itself 

30) ‘ 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 59—54 


is in the Lord, but the Divine from itself is the Divine from the 
Lord in things created. 

53. For the better understanding of this, however, it may 
be expedient to illustrate it. The Divine cannot respect or 
regard any thing but what is divine, and cannot respect what is 
divine anywhere but in things created from itself. That such is 
the case, is evident from this consideration, that no one can 
respect another but from something of his own existing in him- 
self; he who loves another, regards him from his own love in 
himself; he who is wise, regards another from his own wisdom 
in himself. He may see indeed that the other either does or 
does not love him, and that he is either wise or not wise; but 
this he sees from love and wisdom in himself; therefore he 
conjoins himself to him in proportion as the other’s love for him 
corresponds with his love for the other, or in proportion as the 
other is wise like himself; for they thus act as one. It is the 
same with the Divine in itself; for the Divine in itself cannot 
respect itself from another, as from a man, spirit, or angel; for 
they have nothing of the all-creating Divine in itself, and to 
respect the Divine from another, in which there is nothing of 
the Divine, would be to respect the Divine from what is not 
divine, which is impossible. Hence it is, that the Lord is so 
conjoined to a man, spirit, and angel, that all which has relation 
to the Divine is not from them but from the Lord. For it is 
a known thing, that all the good and all the truth which any 
one. has, is not from himself but from the Lord; and indeed 
that no one can even name the Lord, or utter his names, Jesus 
and Christ, but from him. From this then it follows, that 
infinite and eternal, which is the same with the Divine, respects 
all things infinitely in finite subjects, and that it conjoins itself 
to them according to the degree of the reception of wisdom and 
love in them. In a word, the Lord cannot have his mansion 
and dwell with a man and angel, but in his own, and not in their 
proprium, for that is evil; and if it were good, still it is finite, 
which in itself, and from itself, is not capable of infinite. 
From these considerations it is evident, that it can never be 
possible for finite to respect infinite, but that it is possible 
for infinite to respect what is infinite from itself in finite 
subjects. 

54. It appears as if infinite could not be conjoined to finite, 
because there is no proportion between infinite and finite, and 
because finite is not capable of infinite; but nevertheless con- 
junction is given, as well because infinite out of itself created 
all things, according to what is shown in the treatise on THE 
Drvinz Love anp THE Divine Wispom, n. 282, 283, 284, as 
because infinite cannot respect any thing else in finites but what 
is infinite from itself, and that this can appear with finite beings 
asinthem. Thus is established a proportion between finite and 

31 


54— 56 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


infinite, not from finite, but from infinite in finite; and thus 
also finite is capable of infinite, not finite in itself, but as if in 
itself, originating in infinite from itself in it. But of this more 
in what now follows. 

55. UII. Lhat the Divine Providence in all that tt does has 
respect to what is infinite and eternal from itself, especially in 
sawing the human race. Infinite and eternal in itself is the 
Divine itself, or the Lord in himself; but infinite and eternal 
from itself is the proceeding Divine, or the Lord in others 
created out of himself, therefore in men and in angels, and this 
Divine is the same with the Divine Providence ; for the Lord by 
the Divine from himself provides, that all things may be con- 
tained in the order in which and for which they were created ; 
and as the proceeding Divine effects this, it follows that all that 
is the Divine Providence. 

56. That the Divine Providence in all that it does has 
respect to what is infinite and eternal from itself, may appear 
from this consideration, that every created thing, from the First, 
who is infinite and eternal, proceeds to ultimates, and from 
ultimates to the First from whom it proceeded, as was shown in 
the treatise concerning THe Divine Love anp tHe Divine 
Wispom, in the part which treats-of the creation of the uni: 
verse; and as in all its progression, the First from which it is 
derived exists intimately, it follows, that the proceeding Divine 
or the Divine Providence, in all that it does, respects some 
image of what is infinite and eternal. This it does in all things ; 
but insome in a manner evidently perceptible, and in others not. 
It presents that image in a manner evidently perceptible in the 
variety which exists in all things, and in the fructification and 
multiplication of all things. An image of what 1s mpinite and 
eternal in the variety of all things appears in this, that there does 
not exist, nor can exist to eternity, any one thing the same 
with another. This is manifest to the eye in the faces of men 
from the first creation, and therefore also from their minds, 
of which their faces are the types, and also from their affections, 
perceptions, and thoughts, for of these the mind consists. 

tence it is that there do not exist in the universal heaven, nor 
indeed can there exist to eternity, two angels or two spirits the 
same. ‘The same is true in regard to every object of sight in 
both worlds, as well in the natural as in the spiritual: hence it 
may appear that the variety is infinite and eternal. An wmage of 
what rs infinite and eternal inthe fructificationand multiplica- 
tion of all things, is evident from the faculty which is inherent 
in seeds in the vegetable kingdom, and in prolification in the 
animal kingdom, especially in the spawn of fishes, which is 
such, that, if they were to fructify and multiply according to it, 
they would in an age fill the spaces of the whole world, and even 
of the universe ; from which consideration it is evident, that, in 

32 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 56—58 


that faculty there lies concealed an effort to propagate itself to 
infinity : and as fructifications and multiplications have not 
failed from the beginning of creation, and will never fail to 
eternity, it follows that in that faculty there is also an effort to 
propagate itself to eternity. 

57. It is the same in men as to their affections which are 
of love, and their perceptions which are of wisdom; the variety 
of both these is infinite and eternal; in like manner their fructi- 
fications and multiplications, which are spiritual. No man 
possesses affection and perception so like another as to be the 
same, nor is it possible to eternity. Moreover, affections can be 
fructified and perceptions multiplied without end. That sciences 
can never be exhausted, is well known. This faculty of fructi- 
fication and multiplication without end, or to infinity and 
eternity, exists in things natural with men, in things spiritual 
with spiritual angels, and in things celestial with celestial 
angels. Affections, perceptions, and knowledges, are such not 
only in general, but also in every particular, even the least con- 
stituent thing. They are such, because they exist from what is 
infinite and eternal in itself, by what is infinite and eternal from 
itself. But since what is finite has not any thing of the divine 
in itself, therefore there is not any thing divine, not even the 
least, in a man or an angel as his own: for a man or an angel is 
finite, and merely a receptacle, which in itself is dead ; his living 
ae being trom the proceeding Divine, which is joined to 

im by contiguity, and which appears to him as his own. That 
this is the case, will be seen in what follows. 

58. The reason why the Divine Providence respects what is 
infinite and eternal from itself, especially in saving the human 
race, is, because the end of the Divine Providence is to form a 
heaven out of the human race, as was shown above, n. 837—45; 
and this being the end, it follows, that it is the reformation and 
regeneration of man, therefore his salvation, which the Divine 
Providence particularly regards, since heaven exists from those 
who are saved or regenerated. And as to regenerate a man is 
to unite in him good and truth, or love and wisdom, as they are 
united in the Divine which proceeds from the Lord, therefore 
the Divine Providence especially regards this in saving the 
human race; the image of what is infinite and eternal not 
existing in a man, except in the marriage of good and truth. 
That the proceeding Divine effects this in the human race 
is known from those who, being filled with the proceeding 
Divine, which is called the Holy Spirit, have prophesied, of 
whom mention is made in the Word ; and from those who, being 
illuminated, see divine truths in the light of heaven; and it is 
especially in the angels, who sensibly perceive the presence, 
influx, and conjunction thereof; yet they perceive also, that such 
conjunction is no other than what may be called adjunction. 


59—61 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


59, Although not heretofore known, the Divine Providence, 
in all its proceedings with a man, has respect to his eternal state ; 
for it cannot regard any thing else, because the Divine is infinite 
and eternal, and the infinite and eternal, or the Divine, is not 
in time, consequently things future are present to it; and as 
the Divine is such, it follows, that in all and every thing which 
it effects, there is respect to eternity. Those, however, who 
think from time and space, perceive this with difficulty, not 
only because they love temporal things, but because they think 
from what is present in the world, and not from what is present 
in heaven, the latter being as absent from them as the end of 
the earth. But those who are in the Divine, when they think 
from the present, think also from what is eternal, because they 
think from the Lord, saying with themselves, What is that 
which is not eternal? is not what is temporal comparatively as 
nothing, and does it not also become nothing when it is ended ? 
Not so what is eternal, which alone is, because its being has no 
end. To think thus, is, while thinking from the present, to 
think at the same time from what is eternal; and when a man so 
thinks, and also lives accordingly, then the proceeding Divine 
in him, or the Divine Providence, in all its progress, respects 
the state of his eternal life in heaven, and leads him to it. That 
the Divine in every man, as well evil as good, regards what is 
eternal, will be seen in what follows. 

60. IV. That an image of what is mfinite and eternal exists 
in the angelic heaven. Among the things necessary to be known, 
is also the angelic heaven; for every one who has any religion 
thinks of heaven, and wishes to go thither; but heaven is not 
granted to any but those who know the way to it and walk 
therein. ‘This way likewise may in some measure be known 
from a knowledge of the nature and quality of those who con- 
stitute heaven, and that no one becomes an angel or goes to 
heaven but he who takes with him the angelic principle out of 
the world, in which angelic principle there is a knowledge of 
the way derived from walking in it, and a walking in the way 
through a knowledge of it. Tn the spiritual world also there 
are actually ways, which extend towards every society of heaven, 
and towards every society of hell; and every one sees his way as 
from himself. The reason of this is, that there are ways there 
for every love, each opening that which leads to its associates ; 
and no one sees any other ways than those of his own love. 
From this consideration it is evident, that angels are no other 
than celestial loves, for otherwise they would not have seen the 
ways leading to heaven. But this may appear more clear from 
a description of heaven. 

61. Every spirit of a man is affection and thought thence 
derived; and as every affection is of love, and thought is of the 
understanding, every spirit is his own love and his own under- 

34 | . 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 61—63 


standing ; which is the reason that when a man thinks only from 
his spirit, as he does when he meditates at home with himself, 
he thinks from the affection which is of his love. Hence it may 
appear, that when a man becomes a spirit, which is the case 
after death, he is the affection of his love, and no other thought 
but what is of his affection. He is an evil affection, which is 
cupidity, if he has been principled in the love of evil ; anda good 
affection, if he has been principled in the love of good; and 
every one has a good affection in proportion as he has shunned 
evils as sins, or an evil affection, in proportion as he has not so 
shunned them. Now as all spirits and angels are affections, it 
is evident that the universal angelic heaven is nothing but the 
love of all the affections of good, and thence the wisdom of all 
the perceptions of truth. As, likewise, all good and truth is 
from the Lord, and the Lord is love itself and wisdom itself, it 
follows, that the angelic heaven is an image of him; and as the 
Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom is in its form a man, it 
also follows, that the angelic heaven cannot be otherwise than in 
such a form. But more will be said of this in the following article. 

62. ‘The reason why the angelic heaven is an image of what 
is infinite and eternal, is, because it is an image of the Lord, 
who is infinite and eternal. The image of his infinity and eter- 
nity appears in this, that there are myriads of myriads of angels, 
of which heaven consists ; that they constitute as many societies 
as there are general affections of ‘celestial love, and that each 
angel in every society is distinctly his own affection ; that from 
so many affections in general and in particular exists the form 
of heaven, which is as one before the Lord, just as a man is one ; 
and that this form is made more and more perfect to eternity, 
according to the increase of members, the union becoming more 
perfect in proportion as more enter the form of the divine love, 
which is the form of forms. From these considerations it is 
manifest, that an image of what is infinite and eternal is appa- 
rent in the angelic heaven. 

63. From the knowledge of heaven afforded by this short 
description, it is evident, that affection, which is of the love of 
good, constitutes heaven in a man: but who knows this at the 
present day? Who, indeed, knows what the affection of the love 
of good is, or that the affections of the love of good are innume- 
rable, and even infinite? For, as before observed, every angel 
is distinctly his own affection, and the form of heaven is the 
form of all the affections of the divine love there. Noone can 
unite all these affections into that form, but he who is love itself 
and at the same time wisdom itself, and at once infinite and eter- 
nal ; for in all the form there is something of infinite and eternal ; 
it is infinite in its conjunction, and eternal in its perpetuity. If 
what is infinite and eternal were taken away from it, it would 
instantly fall in pieces. Who else can unite affections into 

35 D 


63—66 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


form,—who else, indeed, can unite one constituent thereof? for 
one constituent thereof cannot be united except from the uni- 
versal idea of all, nor the universal idea of all, except from the 
particular idea of each. There are myriads of myriads who 
compose that form, and there are myriads who enter it every 
year, and will do so to eternity. All infants enter it, and as 
many adults as are affections of the love of good. From these 
considerations again may be seen an image of what is infinite 
and eternal in the angelic heaven. 

64. V. That to respect what is infinite and eternal in forming 
the angelic heawen, that it may be before the Lord as one man, the 
image of himself, is the inmost end or purpose of the Divine Pro- 
vidence. That the universal heaven is as one man before the 
Lord, and in like manner every society in heaven ; that in con- 
sequence every angel is in a perfect human form, and that this 
is the case because God the Creator, who is the Lord from eter- 
nity, is a man, may be seen in the work on Hraven AnpD Het, 
n. 59-86. Also, that hence there is a correspondence of all 
things of heaven with all things of man, n. 87—102. That the 
universal heaven is as one man, has not been seen by me, be- 
cause the universal heaven cannot be seen by any but the Lord 
only ; but that an entire society of heaven, greater or less, appears 
as one man, has sometimes been seen ; and then it was told me, 
that the greatest society, which is heaven in its whole complex, 
appears in like manner, but before the Lord only; and that this 
is the reason why every angel is in all the particulars of his form 
a man. 

65. As the universal heaven is in the sight of the Lord as 
one man, therefore heaven is distinguished into as many general 
societies as there are organs, viscera, and members in a man ; and 
each general society into as many less general or particular so- 
cieties as there are larger parts in each viscus or organ. [rom 
this it is evident what heaven is. Now as the Lord is perfect 
man, and heaven is the image of him, therefore being in heaven 
is called being in the Lord. That the Lord is perfect man 
may be seen in the treatise on the Divine Love AnD THE 
Divine Wispom, n. 11—13, and n. 285—289. 

66. From these considerations, this arcanum, which may be 
called angelic, can in some measure be seen,—that every attec- 
tion of good, and at the same time of truth, in its form is a man ; 
for whatever proceeds from the Lord, derives from his divine love 
its being an affection of good, and from his divine wisdom its 
being an affection of truth. The affection of truth, which pro- 
ceeds from the Lord, appears as perception, and thence thought 
of truth, in an angel and a man; because perception and thought 
are attended to, while the affection from which they proceed is 
but little observed, notwithstanding it proceeds from the Lord 
with the affection of truth as one. 

386 


———— 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 67—70 


67. Now as a man by creation is a heaven in its least form, 
and thence an image of the Lord ; and as heaven consists of as 
many affections as there are angels, and every affection in its 
form is a man, it follows, that it is the continual design of the 
Divine Providence, that aman should be madea heaven in form, 
and thence an image of the Lord: and this, being done by the 
affection of good and truth, that aman should be made that af- 
fection. But although this is the continual design of the Divine 
Providence, its inmost end or purpose is, that aman should be in 
a particular society in heaven, or in a certain part in the divine 
celestial man, for thus he is in the Lord. This is effected with 
those whom the Lord can lead to heaven; and since he foresees 
this, he also continually provides that a man should be brought 
into a state to be led; for every one who suffers himself to be 
led to heaven is prepared for his place in heaven. 

68. Heaven, as was said above, is divided into as many 
societies as there are organs, viscera, and members ina man; and 
in these, no one part can have any other place than its own: 
since, therefore, angels are such parts in the divine celestial 
man, and none are made angels but such as have been men in 
the world, it follows, that the man who suffers himself to be led 
to heaven is continually prepared by the Lord for his particular 
place, which is done by such an affection of good and truth 
as corresponds to it: and into this his proper place every man- 
angel is enrolled after his departure out of the world. This is 
the inmost purpose of the Divine Providence concerning heaven. 

69. But the man who does not suffer himself to be led to 
and enrolled in heaven, is prepared for his place in hell; fora 
man from himself continually tends to the lowest hell, but is 
continually withheld by the Lord ; and he who cannot be with- 
held is prepared for a certain place there, in which he is also 
enrolled immediately after his departure out of the world. This 
place is opposite to a certain place in heaven, for hell is in oppo- 
sition to heaven; therefore, as a man-angel, according to the 
affection of good and truth, has his place assigned him in heaven, 
so a man-devil according to the affection of evil and falsity, has 
his place assigned him in hell; for two opposites, disposed in a 
similar situation against each other, are heldin connection. This 
is the inmost purpose of the Divine Providence concerning hell. 


THAT THERE ARE LAWS OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE WHICH 
ARE UNKNOWN TO MEN. 


70. That there is a Divine Providence, is known; but what 
the nature of it is, is not known. The reason why the nature of 
the Divine Providence is not known, is, that its laws are secret, 

37 


70, 71 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


hitherto hidin wisdom among the angels. But they are now to be 
revealed, in order that what belongs tothe Lord may be ascribed 
to him, and that a man may not have ascribed to him that which 
is not his: for most people in the world attribute all things to 
themselves, and to their own prudence; or what they cannot so 
attribute, they call accidents and contingencies; not knowing that 
human prudence is nothing, and that accidents and contingencies 
are vain words. It is said that the laws of the Divine Providence 
are arcana, hitherto hidin wisdom among the angels; the reason 
of which is, that in the Christian world the understanding in 
things divine is closed by religion, and it is thence become so 
dull and resisting in regard to such subjects, that a man cannot, 
because he will not, or will not because he cannot, understand 
any thing more of the Divine Providence than merely that it 
exists, or to reason whether it does exist or not, and likewise 
whether it is universal only, or also particular. The under- 
standing, closed up by religion, could proceed no further in 
things divine. But as it is acknowledged in the church, that a 
man cannot from himself do good which in itself is really good, 
or from himself think truth which in itself is really truth; 
and these are one with the Divine Providence, so that a belief 
in one depends upon a belief in the other; therefore, lest one 
should be affirmed and the other denied, and so both fall to the 
ground, the nature of the Divine Providence is to be fully re- 
vealed. This however cannot be done, unless the laws be 
disclosed by which the Lord provides and governs what relates 
to the will and understanding of man: for these laws enable a 
man to know the nature and quality of Providence, and he, and 
only he, who knows its nature and quality, can acknowledge it, 
for in such case he sees it. This is the reason why the laws of 
the Divine Providence, hitherto hidin wisdom among the angels, 
are now revealed. 


THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN 
SHOULD ACT FROM LIBERTY ACCORDING TO REASON. 


71. That a man has the liberty of thinking and willing as he 
pleases, but not the liberty of speaking whatsoever he thinks, 
or of doing whatsoever he wills, is well known. The liberty, 
therefore, which is here understood, is spiritual, and not natural 
liberty, except when they make one; for to think and to will is 
spiritual, but to speak and to act is natural. They are also ma- 
nifestly distinguished in aman; for he can think what he does 
not speak, and will what he does not perform ; from which it is 
evident, that what is spiritual and what is natural in him are 

38 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. ‘Ga 


distinguished from each other, so that he cannot pass from one 
to the other, but by a determination to do so. This determi- 
nation may be compared to a door, which is first to be shut and 
opened ; the door stands as it were open in those who think and 
will from reason, according to the civil laws of the kingdom 
and the moral laws of society, for they speak what they think, 
and do what they will; but it stands as it were shut in those 
who think and will contrary to those laws. He who attends to 
what he wills and to his consequent acts, will perceive that such 
a determination occurs, sometimes even several times in one 
discourse and in one action. This is premised, in order that it 
may be known, that by acting from liberty according to reason, 
is meant to think and will freely, and thence to speak and do 
freely, that which is according to reason. 

72. But as there are few who know, that this can be a law 
of the Divine Providence, on this account especially, that a man 
has hereby also the liberty of thinking what is evil and false, 
and yet the Divine Providence continually leads a man to think 
and will what is good and true,—therefore, for the clearer per- 
ception of it, we shall proceed distinctly, and according to the 
following order: I. That aman has reason and free-will, or rati- 
onality and liberty ; and that these two faculties are from the Lord 
in him. I. That whatever a man does from liberty, whether it 
be of reason or not, provided it be according to his reason, 
appears to him as his own act. II. That whatever a man 
does from liberty, according to his thought, is appropriated 
to him as his own, and remains. IV. That a man by these two 
faculties is reformed and regenerated of the Lord; and that 
without them he could not be reformed and regenerated. V. 
That a man by means of these two faculties can be reformed 
and regenerated, so far as he can be led by them to acknow- 
ledge, that all the truth and good which he does and thinks is 
from the Lord, and not from himself. VI. That the conjunction 
of the Lord with a man, and the reciprocal conjunction of a man 
with the Lord, is effected by these two faculties. VII. That 
the Lord preserves these two faculties in a man inviolable, and as 
sacred, in every proceeding of his Divine Providence. VIII. 
That therefore it is of the Divine Providence, that a man should 
act from liberty according to reason. 

73. I. That aman has reason and free-will, or rationality and 
liberty ; and that these two faculties are from the Lord in him. 
That a man has the faculty of understanding, which is rationality, 
and the faculty of thinking, willing, speaking, and doing that 
which he understands, which is liberty; and that these two 
faculties are from the Lord in him, was discussed in the treatise 
on Tae Divine Love anv tae Divine Wispom, n. 264—270, 
425; and also above. But as several doubts may occur re- 
specting both these faculties, when they are thought of, I am 

39 


73 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


desirous in this preliminary part to add a few observations con- 
cerning the liberty of acting according to reason ina man. It is 
first, however, to be observed, that all liberty is of love, insomuch 
that love and liberty are one; and since love is the life of a man, 
liberty also is of his life; for every delight enjoyed by a man is 
from his love, no delight being afforded from any other source ; 
and to act from the delight of love is to act from liberty, for 
delight leads a man as a river does that which is borne away by 
its stream. Now as there are several kinds of love, some in 
agreement, and others contrary, it follows, that in like manner 
there are several kinds of liberty. They may however be re- 
duced in general to three kinds,—natural, rational, and spiritual. 
Every man, by virtue of the hereditary principle received at his 
birth, has NaTuRAL Liperty; under the influence of which he 
loves nothing but himself and the world: his first life is nothing 
else; and as all evils exist from these two kinds of love, and 
thence also become objects of love, it follows, that to think and 
will evils is his natural liberty; and that when he has con- 
firmed them in himself by reasonings, he does them from liberty 
according to his reason. When aman thus acts it is by virtue of 
the faculty called liberty ; and when he thus confirms evils, it is 
by virtue of the faculty called rationality. For example: it is 
by virtue of the love in which a man is born, that he has the will 
to commit adultery, frauds, blasphemy, and revenge; and when 
he confirms these evils in himself, and thereby makes them 
lawful, he then, from the delight of the love of them, thinks and 
wills them freely as according to reason, and, so far as civil laws 
do not restrain, speaks of and does them. It is from the Divine 
Providence of the Lord, that a man is allowed so to do, because 
he has free-will or liberty. A man is in this liberty by nature, 
because by birth; and those are in this liberty who have con- 
firmed it in themselves by reasonings from the delight of the 
love of self and of the world. Rarronan treerty is grounded 
in the love of fame for the sake of honor or interest. The 
delight of this love is to appear externally as a moral character. 
As a man loves this reputation, he does not defraud, or commit 
adultery, or indulge in a spirit of revenge or blasphemy; and 
as, by his reason, he confirms himself in abstinence from such 
crimes, he also from liberty, according to his reason, acts sin- 
cerely, justly, chastely, and friendly ; indeed, from reason he can 
speak well in favor of such virtues. But if his rational faculty 
is only natural, and not at the same time spiritual, this hberty 
is only external and not internal liberty, for nevertheless he does 
not interiorly love those virtues, but only exteriorly, as before 
remarked, for the sake of reputation; and therefore the good 
actions which he does are in themselves not good. He can say 
also, that they ought to be done for the sake of the public good ; 
but this he does not say from any love of the public good, but 
40 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 78, 74 


from the love of his own honor or interest; consequently, his 
liberty derives nothing from the love of the public good, neither 
does his reason, for it complies with his love. This rational 
liberty therefore is interior natural liberty ; and, from the Divine 
Providence of the Lord, this liberty also is left to every one. 
SPIRITUAL LIBERTY is grounded in the love of eternal life. Into 
this love and its delight no one comes, but he who thinks that 
evils are sins, therefore does not will them, and at the same time 
looks to the Lord. As soon as a man does this, he is in that 
liberty; for no one has ‘power not to will evils because they are 
sins, and therefore not to do them, but from an interior or 
superior liberty, which is from his interior or superior love. 
This liberty does not at first appear as liberty, but yet it is so; 
and afterwards it appears to be so, when a man acts from real 
liberty according to real reason, by thinking, willing, speaking, 
and doing what is good and true. This liberty increases, as 
natural liberty decreases and becomes subservient; and it joins 
itself with rational liberty, which it purifies. Every one may 
come into spiritual liberty, provided he be willing to think that 
there is an eternal life, and that the delight and blessedness of 
life in time for a time, is only as a transient shadow, compared 
with the delight and blessedness of life in eternity to eternity ; 
and this a man may think if he chooses, because he possesses 
rationality and liberty, and because the Lord, from whom these 
two faculties are derived, continually gives him the power. 

74. IL. Lhat whatever a man does from liberty, whether it be 
of reason or not, provided it be according to his reason, appears to 
him as lis own act. What the rationality is, and what the liberty, 
which are proper to a man, cannot be known more clearly, than 
by a comparison of men with beasts ; for the latter have not any 
rationality or faculty of understanding, or any liberty or faculty 
of willing freely, and thence have no understanding and will; 
but instead of understanding they have science, and instead of 
will, affection, both of which are natural: and as they have not — 
those two faculties, therefore they have no thought, but instead 
of thought internal: sight, which makes one with their external 
sight by correspondence. Every aftection has its companion as 
a consort; the affection of natural love having science, the 
affection of spiritual love, intelligence, and the affection of ce- 
lestial love, wisdom. For affection without its companion, or 
what may be called its connubial partner, is nothing ; for it is 
like esse without eaistere, or like a substance without a form, 
of which nothing can be predicated. Hence it is, that in every 
created thing there is something which may be referred to the 
marriage of good and truth, as was abundantly shown above. 
In beasts there is a marriage of affection and science; the aftec- 
tion being that of natural good, and the science that of natural 
truth. Now as affection and science in beasts act entirely as 


74, 75 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


one, and their affection cannot be elevated above their science, 
nor their science above their affection, and if they are elevated, 
they are elevated both together; and as-they have no spiritual 
mind, to which or into the light and heat of which they can be 
elevated ; therefore they have not the faculty of understanding 
or rationality, or the faculty of free-will or liberty, but only 
mere natural affection, with its science. Their natural affection 
is that of feeding themselves, of providing a habitation, of pro- 
pagating their kind, and of shunning and flying from harm, 
with all the requisite science or knowledge; and such being 
their state of life, they cannot think within themselves, “I will 
do this, and will not do that,” or, “I know, or do not know, 
such a thing,” still less, “I understand such a thing, or I love 
such a thing;” but they are carried away of their particular 
affection by science, without rationality and liberty. The cause 
of their being so carried away is not from the natural, but from 
the spiritual world; for nothing exists in the natural world un- 
connected with the spiritual world, from which is every cause 
producing an effect. Something on this subject may be also 
seen below, n. 96. 

75. It is otherwise with a man, who has not only the affec- 
tion of natural love, but also the affection of spiritual love, and 
that of celestial love; for the human mind consists of three 
degrees, as was shown in the treatise concerning Tur Drvine 
Love anp tHE Divine Wispom, Part III.: a man can therefore 
be elevated from natural science into spiritual intelligence, and 
thence into celestial wisdom: and from intelligence and wisdom 
he can look up to the Lord, and thus be joined unto him, 
whereby he lives to eternity. But this elevation as to affection 
would not be possible, if he had not the faculty of elevating his 
understanding from rationality, and that of willing to do so 
from liberty. A man by these two faculties can think within 
himself concerning the things which with his bodily senses he 
perceives without himself, and can also think in a superior 
sphere concerning the things which he thinks of in an inferior 
sphere: for every one can say, “I thought this,” or “I think 
this,” also, “I willed this, and I will this,” and likewise, “I un- 
derstand this that it is so, I love this because it is such,” and so 
on. Hence it is evident, that a man thinks as it were above his 
thought, which he sees as if it were below him. This power he 
derives from rationality and liberty,—from rationality in respect 
that he can think in a superior sphere, and from liberty in 
respect that from affection he wills so to think ; for if he had not 
the liberty of so thinking, he would not have the will, or con- 
sequently the thought. Wherefore those who will not under- 
stand any thing but what is of the world and its nature, or 
what is moral and spiritual good and truth, cannot be elevated 
from knowledge or science into intelligence, and still less into 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. Foe 


wisdom ; for they have obstructed those faculties ; and therefore 
they cause themselves to be men in no other respect than that 
from their inherent rationality and liberty they can understand 
if they will, and also that they have the power to will. From 
these two faculties aman has the power to think, and from 
thought to speak; in other faculties men are but beasts, and 
often indeed from the abuse of these faculties become worse 
than beasts. 

76. Every one from rationality not obscured may see or 
comprehend that aman, without an appearance that it is his own, 
cannot be in any affection of knowing, or in any affection of 
understanding ; for all delight and pleasure, therefore every 
thing of the will, is from the affection which is of love. Who 
can will to know and will to understand, unless he has some 
pleasure of affection? And who can have the pleasure of 
affection, unless that by which he is affected appears as his 
own? If it were none of his, but all of another’s, that is, if a 
person from his own affections should infuse any thing into the 
mind of another, who had no affections of knowing and under- 
standing as from himself, would the other receive it? would he 
indeed be able to receive it? would he not be as that which is 
called brute, or as astock? Hence it may plainly appear, that 
although every thing which a man perceives and thence thinks 
and knows, and according to perception wills and does, enters 
by influx, still it is of the Divine Providence of the Lord, that it 
should appear as the man’s; for otherwise, as before observed, he 
would receive nothing, therefore could not be gifted with any 
intelligence and wisdom. It is well known, that no good and 
truth is a man’s, but all the Lord’s, and yet that it appears to a 
man as his own; and as all good and truth so appears, therefore 
all things also of the church and of heaven, consequently all 
things of love and wisdom, and of charity and faith, so appear ; 
and yet none of them is his. No one can receive them from 
the Lord, unless it appears to him that he perceives them as 
from himself. From these considerations this truth may be 
manifest, that whatsoever a man does from liberty, whether it 
be of reason or not of reason, provided it be according to his 
reason, appears to him as his own. , 

77. Who is not able to understand, by virtue of the faculty 
which is called rationality, that this or that good is useful to the 
community, and that this or that evil is noxious to the commu- 
nity; as that justice, sincerity, and conjugal chastity, are 
beneficial to the community, and that injustice, insincerity, and 
whoredom committed with the wives of others, are injurious to 
the community ; consequently that these evils are in themselves 
mischievous, and that those various kinds of good are in them- 
selves beneficial? Who therefore, if he be so disposed, cannot 
make those species of good and evil the good and evil of his 


G7, 48 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


reason, since he has both rationality and liberty? His ration- 
ality and liberty also disclose themselves, appear, govern, and 
enable him to perceive and to have power, in proportion as, for 
the above reasons, he shuns those evils in himself; and in the 
same proportion as he does this, he respects those kinds of good, 
as a friend does his friends. rom these circumstances it is in 
aman’s power afterwards, by virtue of the faculty which is called 
rationality, to form conclusions respecting the various kinds of 
good which are useful to the community in the spiritual world, 
and respecting the various kinds of evil which are noxious there, 
provided that he perceives the different kinds of evils to be sins, 
and considers the different kinds of good to be works of charity. 
These conclusions, also, a man may make the conclusions of 
his reason, if he chooses, because he has rationality and liberty ; 
and his rationality and liberty disclose themselves, appear, 
govern, and enable him to perceive and to possess power, in 
proportion as he shuns those evils as sins; and in proportion as 
he does this, he respects the good as charity, as one neighbour 
respects another mutually from love. Now as the Lord, for the 
sake of reception and conjunction, wills, that whatsoever a man 
does freely according to reason may appear to him as his own, 
and this is according to reason itself, it follows, that a man can, 
by virtue of reason, because it is for his eternal felicity, be will- 
ing to shun the above evils as sins, and, by imploring the divine 
power of the Lord, can effect what he wills. 

78. I. That whatever aman does from liberty according to 
his thought, is appropriated to him as his own, and remaims. The 
reason is, because the propriwm of a man and his liberty make 
one. The propriwm of aman is of his life, and what he does 
from his life, he does from liberty. Moreover, the propriwm of 
a man is that which is of his love: for love is the life of every 
one, and what aman does from his life’s love, he does from 
liberty. The reason why a man acts from liberty according to 
his thought is, that whatever is of the life or of the love of any 
one, is also the object of thought, and is by thought confirmed, 
and when it is confirmed, then he does it from liberty according 
to his thought. For whatsoever a man does, he does from the 
will by the understanding; and liberty is of the will, and 
thought is of the understanding. A man can also act from liberty 
contrary to reason; and again, not from liberty according to 
reason; but such acts are not appropriated to him, being only 
the acts of his lips and of his body, and not of his spirit and of 
his heart ; yet the acts which are of his spirit and of his heart, 
when they are also made the acts of his lips and of his body, are 
appropriated to him: that this is the case might be illustrated 
by many considerations, but this is not the proper place for it. 
By being appropriated to a man is meant to enter into his life, 
and to be made of his life, consequently to be made his proprvwm. 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. Tsao) 


That aman, however, has not any thing which is proper to himself, 
but that it appears to him as if it were so, will be seen in what 
follows. We shall here only observe, that all the good which a 
man does from liberty according to reason, is appropriated to 
him as his own, because, in thinking, willing, speaking, and 
acting, it appears to him as his own; nevertheless, good is 
not of a man, but is of the Lord in him, as may be seen above, 
n. 76. But how evil is appropriated to a man will be seen in its 
proper article. 

79. It is also said, that whatever a man does from liberty 
according to his reason remains ; for no one thing which a man 
has appropriated to himself can be eradicated, because it is 
made an object of his love and at the same time of his reason, 
or of his will and at the same time of his understanding, and 
thence of his life. It may be removed indeed, but not cast 
out; and when it is removed, it is transferred as it were from 
the centre to the circumference, and there abides. This is 
meant by its remaining. For example: if a man in his child- 
hood and youth has appropriated to himself a certain evil by 
doing it from the delight of his love,—as, if he has defrauded, 
blasphemed, revenged, committed whoredom,—then as he has 
done these things from liberty according to his thought, he has 
also appropriated them to himself; but if he afterwards repents, 
shuns them, and considers them as sins which are to be abhorred, 
and thus from liberty according to reason desists from them, 
then there are appropriated to him the good principles to which 
those evils are opposite. These good principles then consti- 
tute the centre, and remove the evils towards the circumfer- 
ence further and further according to his aversion and abhor- 
rence of them; but still they cannot be so cast out as to be said 
to be extirpated, although by such removal they may appear 
as if extirpated; which is effected by a man’s being detained 
from evil and held in good by the Lord. This is the case with 
respect to all hereditary evil, and at the same time all actual 
evil of aman. I have also seen it proved by experience with 
some in heaven, who, because they were kept in good by the 
Lord, thought themselves to be without evils ; but to prevent 
their thinking that the good in which they were was their own, 
they were let down from heaven and into their evils, till they 
acknowledged that they were in evils from themselves, but in 
good from the Lord; after which acknowledgment they were 
carried back into heaven. Let it be known therefore, that 
these good principles are no otherwise appropriated to a man, 
than as they are constantly of the Lord in him; and that in 
proportion as a man acknowledges this, the Lord grants that 
good may appear to him as his own, that is, that a man may 
appear to himself to love his neighbour or to have charity as 
from himself, to believe or to have faith as from himself, to do 

5 


79—82, ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


good and to understand truth, and therefore to be wise as from 
himself; from which considerations every enlightened person 
may see, what and how strong is the appearance in which the 
Lord wills that aman should be; and the Lord wills this for the 
sake of his salvation, for no one without that appearance can 
be saved. On this subject, see also what is shown above, n. 
49—45, | 

80. Nothing is appropriated to a man which he only thinks, 
nor yet that which he thinks to will, except he at the same time 
wills it to such a degree, that when opportunity is given he 
does it; and the reason is, that when a man does it from this 
ground, he does it from the will by the understanding, or from 
the affection of the will by the thought of the understanding. 
So long, however, as any thing is an object of the thought only, 
it cannot be appropriated, because the understanding does not 
join itself with the will, nor the thought of the understanding 
with the affection of the will; but the will and its affection join 
themselves with the understanding and its thought, as is shown 
abundantly in the treatise on Tue Drvine Love anv THE 
Divine Wispom, Part the Fifth. This is meant by these words 
of the Lord: ‘* Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth 
a man, but that which cometh out of the heart through the 
mouth, that defileth a man” (Matt. xv. 11,17, 18,19). By 
the mouth in a spiritual sense is meant the thought, because 
the thought speaks by the mouth; and by the heart in that 
sense is meant the affection which is of love. If a man.thinks 
and speaks from this affection, then he defiles himself. By the 
heart also is signified-the affection which is of love or of will, 
and by the mouth, the thought which is of the understanding, 
in Luke vi. 45. 

81. The evils which a man thinks allowable, although he 
does them not, are also appropriated to him; allowableness in 
thought being from the will, for it is consent; therefore, when a 
man thinks any evil allowable, he loosens the internal restraint, 
respecting it, and is kept from doing it only by external 
restraints, which are fears; and because the spirit of the man 
favours such evil, therefore, when external restraints are re- 
moved, he does it freely ; and in the mean time continually does 
it in his spirit. But on this subject see Tae Docrrine or 
Lire ror tHE New Jerrvsatem, n. 108—113. 

82. IV. That a man by these two faculties is reformed and 
regenerated by the Lord ; and that without them he could not be 
reformed and regenerated. The Lord teaches that unless a man 
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, John iii. 3, 
5, 7; but what it is to be born again, or to be regenerate, is 
known to few. The reason of this is, that it has not been 
known what love and charity are, nor therefore what faith is ; 
for he who does not know what love and charity are, cannot 

46 | 


ET Ee ee 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 82, 83 


know what faith is; because charity and faith make one, like 
good and truth, and like affection which is of the will and 
thought which is of the understanding ; concerning which union, 
see the treatise on Tue Divine Love anp tue Divint Wis- 
pom, n. 427—4381, and Tur Docrrine or tHe New Jerv- 
SALEM, n. 13—24; also see above, n. 8—20. 

83. The reason why no man can enter into the kingdom of 
God unless he be born again, is, that a man hereditarily from his 
parents is born into evils of every kind, with the faculty of being 
made spiritual by the removal of those evils; and unless he be 
made spiritual, he cannot enter into heaven. To be made 
spiritual from natural, is to be born again, or to be regenerated. 
But in order that it may be known how a man is regenerated, 
these three things are to be considered: what his first state is, 
which is a state of damnation; what his second state is, which 
is a state of reformation ; and what his third state is, which is a 
state of regeneration. Zhe jirst state of aman, which ws a state of 
damnation, every man has hereditarily from his parents, for he is 
thence born into the love of self and the love of the world, and 
into evils of every description from these two kinds of love as 
fountains. The delights of these kinds of love are the delights 
by which he is led, and these delights prevent him from knowing 
that he is in evils; for every delight of love is felt no otherwise 
than as good ; and therefore also a man, unless he is regenerated, 
knows no other than that to love himself and the world above 
all things is essential good, and that to domineer over all, and 
possess the wealth of all others, is the supreme good. This is 
the source of all evil; for he regards no other person from a 
principle of love but himself alone; or if he regards another 
from a principle of love, it is as one devil regards another, or 
as one thief another, when they act as one. Those who confirm 
in themselves these kinds of love, and the evils flowing from 
them, from the delight thereof, remain natural and become 
sensual-corporeal ; and in their own thought, which is that of 
their spirit, they are insane; but still, while they are in the 
world, they can speak and act rationally and wisely, being as 
men possessed of rationality and liberty ; yet this also they do 
from a love of self and of the world. Such men after death, 
when they become spirits, cannot have any other delight than 
what they had in their spirits in the world, and that is the delight 
of infernal love, which is turned into what is unpleasant, dolor- 
ous, and direful, signified in the Word by torment and hell-fire. 
Hence it is evident that the first state of a man is a state of 
damnation ; and that those are in it who do not suffer themselves 
to be regenerated. Zhe second state of a man, which is a state of 
reformation, is, when a man begins to think of heaven from the 
joy that is therein, and thus to think of God, from whom he 
has ee joy of heaven. At first, however, he thinks thus from 

4 | 


83, 85 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


the delight of the love of self, heavenly joy being to him that 
delight; and so long as the delight of that love reigns, together 
with the delights of the evils flowing therefrom, he cannot 
understand otherwise than that to go to heaven is to pour out 
prayers, to hear preachings, to receive the Lord’s supper, to 
give to the poor, to help the needy, to endow churches and 
hospitals, and such like things. Nor does a man in this state 
know otherwise than that barely to think the things that religion 
teaches effects salvation, whether it be that which is called faith, 
or that which is called faith and charity. The reason why he 
understands no other than that to think these things effects 
salvation, is, because he thinks nothing of the evils in the 
delights of which he is, and so long as their delights remain, 
the evils also remain; for their delights arise from the concu- 
piscence of them, which continually inspires them and also 
produces them, when no fear operates to prevent it. So long” 
as evils remain in the concupiscences, and thence in the delights 
of the love of them, there is neither any faith, charity, piety, 
nor worship, except only in externals, which appear before the 
world as if they were real, but yet are not. They may therefore 
be compared to waters flowing from an impure fountain, which 
cannot be drunk. So long as a man is such that he thinks of 
heaven and of God from religion, and nothing of evils as sins, 
he is still in his first state: but he comes into the second, or 
state of reformation, when he begins to think that there is such 
a thing as sin, and still more when he thinks that this or that 
is a sin, and when he explores it a little in himself, and does not 
will it. Zhe third state of a man, which is a state of regeneration, 
takes up and continues the prior state; it begins when a man 
desists from evils as sins, proceeds as he shuns them, and is 
perfected as he fights against them; and then as he overcomes 
from the Lord he is regenerated. With the regenerate man the 
order of life is changed, and from natural he is made spiritual ; 
for the natural principle separate from the spiritual is contrary 
to order, and the spiritual principle is according to order ; there- 
fore a regenerate man acts from charity, and makes what belongs 
to his faith conformable to his charity. But still he is only 
made spiritual in proportion as he is in truths; because every 
man is regenerated by truths, and a life according to them; for 
by truths he knows life, and by life he performs truths: he thus 
conjoins goodness and truth, which is the spiritual marriage, in 
which is heaven. 

85. The reason why a man is reformed and regenerated by 
those two faculties which are called rationality and liberty, and 
that without them he cannot be reformed and regenerated, is, 
because by rationality he can understand and know what is 
evil and what is good, and thence what is false and what is 
true; and by liberty he can will that which he understands. and 

48 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 85—87 


knows. But so long as the delight of the love of evil reigns, he 
cannot freely will what is good and true, and make them prin- 
ciples of his reason, therefore he cannot appropriate them to 
himself; for, as was shown above, the things which a man 
does from liberty according to reason, are appropriated to him 
as his own, and unless they are appropriated as his own, he 
is not reformed and regenerated. ‘Then also he first acts from 
the delight of the love of goodness and truth, when the delight 
of the love of evil and false is removed ; for two kinds of delight 
of love which are opposite to each other cannot exist at the same 
time. To act from the delight of love, is to act from liberty ; 
and when reason favors the love, it is also to act according to 
reason. 

86. Since a man, as well he who is wicked as he who is good, 
has rationality and liberty, so a wicked as well as a good man 
can understand truth and do good: but a wicked man cannot 
do so from liberty according to reason, whereas a good man 
can; because a wicked man is in the delight of the love of evil, 
and a good man is in the delight of the love of good. The 
truth therefore which a wicked man understands, and the good 
which he does, are not appropriated to him; but they are 
appropriated to a good man; and without appropriation as his 
own, reformation and regeneration do not take place. For 
evils with falsities are with the wicked as it were in the centre, 
and good principles with truths in the circumference; but good 
principles with truths are in the centre with the good, and evils 
with falsities in the circumference ; and in both cases the things 
which are of the centre diffuse themselves to the circumference, 
as heat from fire in the centre, and cold from ice in the centre. 
Thus good in the circumference with the wicked is defiled by the 
evils of the centre, and evils in the circumference with the good 
are rendered mild by the good principles of the centre; and 
this is the reason why evils do not condemn a regenerate man, 
and good actions do not save an unregenerate man. 

87. WV. That a man, by means of those two faculties, can be 
reformed and regenerated so far as he can be led by them to 
acknowledge, that all the truth and good which he thinks and does 
is from the Lord, and not from himself. What reformation 
and regeneration are, was stated above; and also that a man, 
by the two faculties of rationality and liberty, is reformed and 
regenerated: and as this is effected by those faculties, it may 
be expedient to say something more concerning them. A man by 
virtue of rationality has power to understand, and by virtue of 
liberty has power to will, both as from himself; but the power 
of willing good from liberty, and thence of doing it according 
to reason, no one has but the regenerate. A wicked man can 
will only evil from liberty, and do it according to his thought, 
which by confirmations he makes as it were of reason ; for evil 

49 


87—89 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


can be confirmed as well as good, but it is by fallacies and ap- 
pearances, which, when they are confirmed, become falsities ; 
and when evil is confirmed, it appears as of reason. 

88. Every one, who has any thought from ‘interior under- 
standing, may see, that the power of willing and of under- 
standing is not from a man, but from Him who has power itself, 
that is, who has power in its essence. Consider only, whence 
is power? Is it not from him who has it in its essential ground ; 
that is, who has it in himself, and consequently from himself ? 
Power therefore in itself is divine. To all power there will be 
leave, which is to be given, and thus a determination from what 
is interior or superior to self. The eye cannot see from itself, 
nor the ear hear from itself, neither can the mouth speak from 
itself, nor the hands act from themselves; there must be leave 
given, and thence determination from the mind. “Nor can the 
mind think and will this or that from itself, unless there be 
something interior or superior by which it is determined to it. 
It is the same with the power of understanding and the power 
of willing; these cannot be given by any other than by Him 
who in and of himself is able to will and to understand. From 
such considerations it is evident, that those two faculties, which 
are called rationality and liberty, are from the Lord, and not 
from a man; and as they are from the Lord, it follows, that a 
man wills nothing from himself, and understands nothing from 
himself, but only as if it were from himself. That this is the 
case, every one may confirm in himself, who knows and believes 
that the willing of all good, and the understanding of all truth, 
is from the Lord, and not from man. That @ man cannot draw 
any thing from himself, and cannot do any thing from himself, is 
taught by the Word in John iii. 27; xv. 5. 

89. Now as all volition is from love, and all understanding 
is from wisdom, it follows, that to be able to will is from the 
divine love, and to be able to understand is from the divine 
wisdom, therefore, both from: the Lord, who is divine love 
itself and divine wisdom itself. Hence it follows, that to act 
from liberty according to reason, is from no other source. 
Every one acts according to liberty, because liberty, like love, 
cannot be separated from volition ; but in a man there exists an 
interior volition or interior will, and an exterior volition or 
exterior will, and he can act according to the exterior, and at 
the same time not according to the interior ; in this case he acts 
the hypocrite and flatterer; and yet exterior volition is from 
liberty, because it is from the love of appearing otherwise than 
he is, or from the love of some evil which he intends from the 
love of his interior will. But, as was said above, a wicked man 
cannot from liberty according to reason do any thing but evil, 
for he cannot from liberty according to reason do good. He 
can indeed do good, but not from interior liberty, which is-his 

50 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 89—91 


proper liberty, and from which his exterior liberty derives its 
quality of being not good. 

90. It is said that a man can be reformed and regenerated in 
proportion as he can be led, by the above two faculties, to ac- 
knowledge that all the good and all the truth which he thinks 
and does is from the Lord, and not from himself. The reason 
why a man cannot acknowledge this but by those two faculties, 
is because they are from the Lord; and they are of the Lord in 
him, as is evident from what was said above; it follows there- 
fore, that a man cannot do this from himself, but from the Lord ; 
yet still he can do it as if it were from himself: this power the 

ord gives to every one. Let it be supposed that he believes 
from himself; still, when he becomes wise, he will acknowledge 
that it is not from himself. Otherwise, the truth which he 
thinks, and the good which he does, are not true and good in 
themselves ; for the man, and not the Lord, is in them ; and 
the good in which a man is, if it be for the sake of salvation, is 
meritorious good; but the good in which the Lord is, is not 
meritorious. 

91. But that the acknowledgment of the Lord, and the 
acknowledgment that all good and all truth is from him, cause 
aman to be reformed and regenerated, is what few persons can 
see with the understanding; for it may be thought, of what con- 
sequence is such acknowledgment, seeing that the Lord is omni- 
potent, and wills the salvation of all, and thence can and will 
effect it, if he be moved to compassion? But to think thus is 
not from the Lord, nor consequently is it from the interior light 
of the understanding, that is from any illumination ; therefore 
what acknowledgment operates, shall be here briefly explained. 
In the spiritual world, where spaces are appearances only, wis- 
dom produces presence, and love produces conjunction ; and 
vice versa. There is given an acknowledgment of the Lord 
from wisdom, and there is given an acknowledgement of the 
Lord from love. The acknowledgment of the Lord from wisdom, 
which viewed in itself is only a knowledge of him, is given from 
doctrine; and the acknowledgment of the Lord from love is 
given from a life according to doctrine; the latter giving con- 
junction, but the former presence. This is the reason why those 
who reject doctrine concerning the Lord remove themselves from 
him; and as they also reject life, they separate themselves from 
him: whereas those who do not reject doctrine, but life, are 
present, yet separated. They are like friends who converse 
together, but do not mutually love each other; and like two, 
of which the one speaks with the other as a friend, but hates 
him as anenemy. That this is the case, is also known from the 
common idea, that he who teaches well and lives well, is saved, 
but not he who teaches well and lives ill; and that he who 
does not acknowledge God, cannot be saved. From this consi- 

51 E 


91, 92 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


deration it is evident, what sort of a religion it is, to think of 
the Lord from faith, as it is called, and not to do any thing from 
charity. Hence the Lord says, ‘* Why call ye me Lord, Lord, 
and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to 
me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, is like a man 
that built a house, and laid the foundation on a rock: but he 
that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foun- 
dation built a house upon the earth” (Luke vi. 46—49). 

92. VI. That the conjunction of the Lord with a man, and the 
reciprocal conjunction of aman with the Lord, is effected by these 
two faculties. Conjunction with the Lord and regeneration are 
one, for in proportion as any one is conjoined to the Lord, he is 
regenerate : therefore, all that is said above of regeneration may 
be said of conjunction, and what is here said of conjunction may 
be said of regeneration. That there isa conjunction of the Lord 
with aman, and a reciprocal conjunction of aman with the Lord, 
the Lord himself teaches in John: ‘‘ Abide in me, and [in you. 
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth 
much fruit” (xv. 4,5). “‘ At that day ye shall know, that ye 
are in me, and I in you” (xiv. 20). Any one may see from 
reason alone, that there is no conjunction of minds unless it be 
reciprocal, and that reciprocation conjoins. If one loves an- 
other, and is not loved in return, in this case, as the one 
approaches the other retires ; but if he is loved in return, then 
as one approaches the other approaches also, and conjunction is 
effected: for love wills to be beloved; this is inherent init ; and 
in proportion as it is beloved again, it is in itself and in its 
delight. Hence it is evident, that if the Lord only loved a man, 
and were not in his turn to be beloved by him, the Lord would 
approach and he would retire; thus the Lord would continually 
will to meet the man and to enter in to him, and the man would 
turn himself away and depart. With those who are in hell such 
is the case, but with those who are in heaven there is a mutual 
conjunction. As the Lord wills conjunction with a man for the 
sake of his salvation, he provides also that in the man there should 
be a reciprocal principle, by which the good which he wills and 
does from liberty, and the truth which he thinks and speaks 
from his will according to reason, should appear to him as being 
from himself; and that such good in his will and truth in his 
understanding should appear as his own. Indeed, they appear 
to a man as from himself, and as his own, altogether as if they 
were so; there is no distinction. Consider only whether a man 
with any one of his senses perceives otherwise. Of this appear- 
ance as if from himself, see above, n. 74—77; and of appro- 
priation as his own,n. 78—81: the only difference is, that aman 
ought to acknowledge that he does not do good and think truth 
from himself, but from the Lord; and, consequently, that the 
good which he does and the truth which he thinks are not his 

52 ; 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 92—-95 


own. To think thus from some degree of love in the will, 
because it is the truth, effects conjunction; for thus a man 
looks to the Lord, and the Lord looks to him. 

93. What the difference is between those who believe all 
good to be from the Lord, and those who believe good to be 
from themselves, it has been granted me to hear and to see in 
the spiritual world. Those who believe good to be from the 
Lord, turn their faces to him, and receive the delight and _bless- 
edness of good; but those who believe good to be from them- 
selves, look to themselves, and think that they have deserved 
it; and as they look to themselves, they cannot but perceive the 
delight of their own good, which is not the delight of good, but 
the delight of evil; for a man’s selfhood is evil, and the de- 
light of evil perceived as good is hell. Those who have done 
good, and thought it was from themselves, if they do not after 
death receive the truth, that all good is from the Lord, mix 
with infernal genii, and at length act as one with them; whereas, 
those who receive that truth are reformed. But no others receive 
it except those who have respected God in their life: and to 
respect or look up to God in the life, is nothing else but to 
shun evils as sins. 

94. Conjunction of the Lord with a man, and reciprocal con- 
junction of a man with the Lord, is effected by his loving his 
neighbour as himself, and, loving the Lord above all things. 
To love his neighbour as himself, is nothing else than not to act 
insincerely and unjustly with him, not. to hate him and burn 
with revenge against him, not to blaspheme and defame him, 
not to commit adultery with his wife, and not to do any other 
such like things against him. Who cannot see that those who 
do such things, do not love their neighbour as themselves ? 
But those who refrain from such things, because they are evils 
against their neighbour and at the same time sins against God, 
deal sincerely, justly, friendly, and faithfully with their neigh- 
bour; and as the Lord does in like manner, a reciprocal con- 
junction is effected. When conjunction is reciprocal, whatso- 
ever a man does to his neighbour, he does from the Lord, and 
whatsoever he does from the Lord is good; and then his neigh- 
bour is not to him the mere person, but good in the person. 
To love the Lord above all things, is nothing else than not to 
do evil to the Word, because the Lord is therein; or to do 
evil to the holy things of the church, because the Lord is 
therein ; or to do evil to the soul of any one, because the soul 
of every one is in the hand of the Lord. Those who shun these 
evils as enormous sins, love the Lord above all things; but this 
none can do except such as love their neighbour as themselves, 
for love to the Lord and love to the neighbour are in con- 
junction. 

95. Forasmuch as there is a conjunction of the Lord with 

53 


95, 96 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING , 


man, and of man with the Lord, therefore there are two tables 
of the law, one for the Lord and the other for man. In pro- 
portion as a man as from himself, obeys the laws of his own 
table, in the same proportion the Lord enables him to obey the 
laws of his table. But the man who does not keep the laws of 
his own table, all of which relate to the love of his neighbour, 
cannot keep the laws of the Lord’s table, all of which relate to 
the love of the Lord. How can a murderer, a thief, an adul- 
terer, and a false witness, love the Lord? Does not reason 
dictate, that to be such, and to love the Lord, is contradictory ? 
Is not the devil such a one, and can he do otherwise than hate 
the Lord? But when a man turns away from murders, adul- 
teries, thefts, and false testimony, as infernal, he can then love 
the Lord ; for then he turns his face from the devil to the Lord, 
and when he turns his face to the Lord, love and wisdom are 
given him,—these principles entering into a man by his face, 
and not by the hinder part of his head. As in this and in 
no other manner conjunction with the Lord is effected, there- 
fore those two tables are called the covenant, and a covenant 
is between two. 

96. VIL. That the Lord preserves these two faculties in a man 
enviolable, and as sacred, in every proceeding of his Divine Provi- 
dence. The reasons are, that a man, without those two faculties, 
would not have understanding and will, and, therefore, would 
not be a man; also, that a man, without those two faculties, 
could not be conjoined to the Lord, and therefore, could not be 
reformed and regenerated ; and further, that, without those two 
faculties, he would not have immortality and eternal life. 
That this is the case, may indeed be seen from the knowledge 
respecting liberty and rationality (which are those two faculties), 
which was given in the foregoing pages; but it cannot be seen 
clearly, unless the reasons be presented to the view as conclu. 
sions, wherefore it may be expedient to illustrate each. Zhat a 
man, without those two faculties, would not have will and under- 
standing, and, therefore, would not be aman: for aman has will 
from no other source than from the power of willing freely as 
from himself; and freely to will, as from himself, is from the 
faculty continually given him by the Lord, which is called 
liberty ; and a man has understanding from no other source than 
from the power as of himself to understand whether a thing be 
of reason or not; and to understand whether it be of reason 
or not, is from that other faculty continually given him by 
the Lord, which is called rationality. These faculties join them- 
selyes together in a man like the will and the understanding ; 
for instance, because a man can will, he can also understand, 
for volition is not given without understanding,—understanding 
being its consort or companion, without which it cannot exist : 
wherefore with the faculty which is called liberty, is given the 

54 : 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 96 


faculty which is called rationality. Further, if you take away 
volition from understanding, you understand nothing ; and in 
proportion as you will, in the same proportion you can under- 
stand, provided there be at hand and at the ‘same time are 
opened those assistances which are called knowledges, for these 
are like instruments in the hands of artificers. It is said that 
in proportion as you will you can understand, that is, in 
proportion as you love to understand; for will and love act 
as one. This indeed appears as a paradox; but it appears so 
to those only who do not love to understand, and therefore 
will not, and those who will not, say they cannot. But who 
they are that cannot understand, and who they that can with 
difficulty understand, will be shown in the following’ article. 
Without confirmation, it is evident, that if a man had not will 
from the faculty which is called liberty, and understanding from 
the faculty which is called rationality, he would not be a man. 
Beasts have not these faculties. It appears as if they could also 
will, and could understand, but they cannot ; it is natural affec- 
tion, which in itself is desire, with its concomitant science, 
which alone leads and prompts them to do what they do. There 
is indeed a civil and moral principle in their science; but they 
are not above science, because they have no spiritual principle, 
which enables them to perceive the moral principle, and thence 
to think it analytically. They can indeed be taught to do any 
thing; but this is only the natural principle, which adds itself 
to their science, and at the same time to their affection, and is 
reproduced either by sight or by hearing, but is never made 
a principle of thought, and still less of reason in them. Some- 
thing on this subject may be seen above, n. 74. That aman 
without those two faculties could not be conjoined to the Lord, and, 
therefore, could not be reformed and regenerated, was shown 
above; for the Lord resides in those two faculties in men, in the 
wicked as well as in the good, and by them he joins himself to 
every man. Hence it is that a wicked man, as well as a good 
man, can understand, and has in his power the will of good 
and the understanding of truth; and it is from the abuse of 
those faculties that they are not in act. That the Lord resides 
in those faculties in every man, is owing to the influx of the 
will of the Lord, his desire to be received by a man, to make his 
abode with him, and to give him the felicities of eternal life. 
These things are of the will of the Lord, because they are of 
his divine love. It is this will of the Lord, which causes it to 
appear in a man that he of himself thinks, speaks, wills, and 
acts. That the influx of the will of the Lord produces this 
effect, may be confirmed by many particulars from the spiritual 
world; for sometimes the Lord fills an angel with his divine 
ees so that the angel knows no other than that he is the 

ord. In this manner were those angels filled who were seen 

55 


96, 97 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


by Abraham, Hagar, and Gideon, and who therefore called 
themselves Jehovah, as mentioned in the Word. So, also, one 
spirit can be filled by another, until he does not know but that 
he is the other, as has often been seen by me. Moreover, it. is 
known in heaven that the Lord effects all things by volition, and 
that what he wills is done. Hence it is evident, that it is those 
two faculties by which the Lord conjoins himself to a man, and 
by which he causes a man to be reciprocally conjoined to him. 
But how a man by those two faculties is reciprocally conjoined, 
consequently, how by them he is reformed and regenerated, 
was mentioned before, and more will be said of it hereafter. 
That aman without those two faculties would not havermmortality 
and eternal life, follows, from what has just been said,—that by 
them conjunction is effected with the Lord, and also reforma- 
tion and regeneration. By conjunction a man has immortality, 
and by reformation and regeneration eternal life. And since 
by those faculties there is conjunction of the Lord with every 
man, with the wicked as well as the good, as before stated, 
therefore every man has immortality; but he alone has eternal 
life, that is, the life of heaven, in whom there is a reciprocal 
conjunction from inmost parts to ultimates. Hence may be 
seen the reasons why the Lord preserves those two faculties 
in man inviolable, and as sacred, in every proceeding of his 
Divine Providence. 

97. VIL. That therefore ut is of the Divine Providence that 
aman should act from liberty according to reason. To act from 
liberty according to reason, and to act from liberty and ration- 
ality, is the same thing, as is also to act from the will and the 
understanding ; but it is one thing to act from liberty according 
to reason, or from liberty and rationality, and another to act 
from liberty itself according to reason itself, or from genuine li- 
berty and genuine rationality. ‘or the man who does evil from the 
love of evil, and confirms it in himself, acts indeed from liberty 
according to reason, but nevertheless his liberty is in itself not 
liberty, or not essential liberty, but it is infernal liberty, which 
is in itself slavery ; and his reason is in itself not reason, but it 
is either spurious or false reason, or reason only appearing such 
from confirmations. Still, however, both are of the Divine 
Providence; for if the free power of willing evil, and of making 
it appear like reason by confirmations, were taken away from 
the natural man, liberty and rationality would perish, and at 
the same time the will and the understanding; and it would 
not be possible for him to be withdrawn from evils and reformed, 
or consequently to be conjoined to the Lord, and live to eter- 
nity. Wherefore the Lord guards liberty in a man, as a man 
guards the apple of his eye. But still the Lord by liberty con- 
tinually withdraws a man from evils, and, so far as by liberty he 
can withdraw him, in the same degree by liberty he implants 

56 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 97—99 


' goods: thus, successively, in place of infernal liberty he invests 
him with celestial liberty. 

98. It was said above, that every man has a faculty of 
willing which is called liberty, and a faculty of understanding 
which is called rationality: it is, however, well to be observed, 
that these faculties are as it were inherent in a man, for the 
essential human principle resides in them; but, as before ob- 
served, it is one thing to act from liberty according to reason, 
and another to act from essential liberty according to es- 
sential reason. None act from essential liberty according to 
essential reason but those who have suffered themselves to be 
regenerated by the Lord: all others act from liberty ac- 
cording to their thought, which they make like reason. Ne- 
vertheless, every man, unless he be born an idiot or extremely 
stupid, may attain to essential reason, and thereby to essential 
liberty. The causes why he does not attain thereto are several, 
as will be seen in what follows. We shall here only point out 
to whom essential freedom or essential liberty, and, at the same 
time, essential reason or essential rationality, cannot be given, 
and to whom they are given with difficulty. Essential liberty 
and rationality cannot be given to those who are born idiots; 
or to those who afterwards become idiots, so long as they 
remain such. Essential liberty and rationality cannot be given 
to such as are born stupid and silly, or to some who become 
such from the torpor of idleness, or from sickness, which per- 
verts or entirely closes the interiors of the mind, or from the 
love of a beastly life. Neither can essential liberty and ration- 
ality be given to those in the Christian world, who altogether 
deny bh epliarala divinity and the sanctity of the Word, and have 
kept this denial confirmed in themselves to the end of life; for 
this is understood by the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is 
not forgiven in this world, or in that which is to come. Matt. 
xil. 31, 32. Neither can essential liberty and rationality be 
given in those who attribute all things to nature, and nothing to 
the Divine Being, and have made this a part of their faith by 
reasonings from visible objects: for all such are atheists. Es- 
sential liberty and rationality are given with difficulty in those 
who have confirmed themselves much in falses of religion ; 
because the confirmer of what is false is the denier of truth. 
But those who have not so confirmed themselves may attain to 
true liberty and rationality, of whatsoever religion they may be; 
on which subject see what is adduced in The Doctrine of the New 
Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, n. 9A—97. Infants 
and children cannot come into essential liberty and rationality 
before they grow up, because the interiors of the mind in a man 
are successively opened; and in the mean time they are like 
seeds in unripe'fruit, which cannot germinate in the ground. 

Bo It was said, that essential liberty and rationality cannot 

5 


99, 100 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


be given in those who have denied the Lord’s divinity and the 
sanctity of the Word ; or in those who have confirmed themselves 
for nature against the divine principle; and hardly in those who 
have confirmed themselves much in falses of religion: but still 
these have not lost those faculties themselves. I have heard 
atheists, that were become devils and satans, who understood 
arcana of wisdom as well as angels, yet only when they heard 
them from others; but when they returned into their own , 
thoughts they did not understand them; the reason of which was 
that they would not. It was shown them that they also could will 
to understand them if the love and consequent delight of evil did 
not prevent them ; and this also they understood when they heard 
it; yea, they affirmed that they could, and were able, but that 
they did not will to be able, because thereby they would not be 
able to will what they did will, which was evil from the delight of 
the concupiscence thereof. Such wonderful things in the spiritual 
world have I often heard; from which I was fully confirmed 
that every man has liberty and rationality, and that every one 
may come into essential liberty and rationality, if he shuns evils 
as sins. But the adult who does not come into essential liberty 
and rationality in the world can never come into them after 
death ; for then whatever is the state of his life which has been 
acquired in the world, such it remains to eternity. 


THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN 
AS FROM HIMSELF SHOULD REMOVE EVILS AS SINS IN THE 
EXTERNAL MAN, AND THAT THUS AND NO OTHERWISE THE 
LORD CAN REMOVE EVILS IN THE INTERNAL MAN, AND 
THEN AT THE SAME TIME IN THE EXTERNAL. 


100. Every one may see from reason alone, that the Lord, 
who is good itself and truth itself, cannot enter into a man unless 
the evils and falsities in him are removed ; for evil is opposite to 
good, and falsity is opposite to truth; and two Opposites never 
can be mixed, but when one approaches the other a combat 
ensues, which continues until one gives place to the other ; that 
which gives place departing and the other succeeding. In such 
opposition are heaven and hell, or the Lord and the devil. Can 
any one think from reason that the Lord can enter where the 
devil reigns, or that heaven can be where hell is? Who does 
not see, by virtue of the rationality given to every man of sound 
mind, that, in order that the Lord may enter, the devil must be 
cast out, or in order that heaven may enter, hell is to be re- 
moved? This opposition is meant by the words of Abraham out 
of heaven to the rich man in hell: “ Between us and you there 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 100, 101 


is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence 
to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come 
from thence” (Luke xvi. 26). Evil itself is hell, and good itself 
is heaven, or, what is the same, evil itself is the devil, and good 
itself is the Lord ; and a man in whom evil reigns is a hell in its 
least form, and a man in whom good reigns is a heaven in its 
least form. This being the case, how can heaven enter into 
hell, when between them so great a gulf is fixed that there is no 
passing from the one to the other? Hence it follows that hell ° 
is entirely to be removed, that the Lord may be able to enter 
with heaven. 

101. But many, especially those who have confirmed them- 
selves in faith separate from charity, do not know that they are 
in hell when they are in evils, nor do they know, indeed, what 
evils are, because they think nothing of them ; saying, that they 
are not under the yoke of the law, and therefore that the law 
does not condemn them ; also, because they cannot contribute 
any thing to their own salvation, that they cannot remove any 
evil from themselves ; and, moreover, that they cannot do any 
good from themselves. These are they who omit to think of 
evil, and because they omit to think of it they are continually 
init. That these are they who are meant by the goats spoken 
of by the Lord in Matthew, ch. xxv., and of whom it is said, 
verse 41, ‘* Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels,” may be seen in the Doctrine 
of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith, n. 61—68. For those 
who think nothing of evils in themselves, that is, who do not 
explore themselves, and afterwards desist from them, cannot but 
be ignorant what evil is, and then love it from the delight 
thereof; for he who does not know what evil is loves it, and he 
who omits to think of it is continually in it, being like a blind 
man who does not see; for the thought sees good and evil as the 
eye sees what is beautiful and ugly ; and he is in evil who thinks 
and wills it, as well as he who believes that evil does not appear 
before God, and that it is forgiven if it appears, for thus he 
thinks that he is without evil. If such persons abstain from 
doing evils, they do not abstain because they are sins: against 
God, but because they are afraid of the laws and of their repu- 
tation ; thus they do evils in their spirit continually, for it is the 
spirit of man which thinks and wills ; and therefore that which 
a man thinks in his spirit in the world he does after his depar- 
ture out of the world, when he becomes a spirit. In the spiritual 
world, into which every man comes after death, it is not asked 
what has your faith been, or what your doctrine, but what has 
your life been? Thus the inquiry is concerning the nature and 
quality of the life; for it is known that such as any one’s life is, 
such is his faith, and such his doctrine ; because the life forms 
to mt doctrine, and forms to itself faith. 

5 


*102—104 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


102. From what has just been said it may appear, that it is 
a law of the Divine Providence, that evils should be removed by 
a man, for without the removal of them the Lord cannot be con- 
joined to him, and lead him from self into heaven. But as it is 
not known, that a man ought as from himself to remove evils in 
the external man, and that unless he does this as from himself, 
the Lord cannot remove evils in him in the internal man, there- 
fore we shall proceed to exhibit this to the view of reason in its 
light, in the following order. JI. That every man has an ex- 
ternal and an internal of thought. II. That the external of a 
man’s thought is in itself such as is its internal. JIT. That the 
internal cannot be purified from the concupiscences of evil so 
long as evils in the external man are not removed, because they 
obstruct. IV. That evils in the external man cannot be removed 
by the Lord, but by means of the man. V. That therefore a man 
ought to remove evils from the external man as from himself. 
VI. That the Lord then purifies him from the concupiscences of 
evil in the internal man, and from evils themselves ‘in the ex- 
ternal. VII. That it is the continual endeavour of the Divine 
Providence of the Lord, to join a man to himself, and himself to 
a man, that he may be able to give him the felicities of eternal 
life ; which cannot be done, except in proportion as evils with 
their concupiscences are removed. 

103. I. That every man has an external and an internal of 
thought. By the external and internal of thought is here under- 
stood the same as by the external and internal man, which 
means nothing else but the external and the internal of the will 
and understanding, for the will and understanding make the 
man; and as these two manifest themselves in the thoughts, 
they are called the external and internal of thought. Now as 
it is not a man’s body, but his spirit, which wills and under- 
stands, and thence thinks, it follows, that this external and 
internal is the external and internal of a man’s spirit. Bodily 
action, whether exerted in speech or in work; is only an effect 
from the internal and external of a man’s spirit ; for the body 
is merely obedience. 

104. That every man in an advanced age has an external 
and an internal of thought, therefore an external and an in- 
ternal of will and understanding, or an external and an internal 
of the spirit, which is the same with the external and internal 
man, is evident to every one who attends to the thoughts and 
intentions of another from his speech or actions, and also to his 
own thoughts and intentions, when he is in company and when 
he is not; for any one may speak in a friendly manner with 
another in external thought, and yet be his enemy in internal 
thought ; any one may speak of love towards his neighbour, and 
of love towards God, from external thought and at the same 
time from its affection, when, nevertheless, in his internal 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 104—106 


thought he makes light of his neighbour, and does not fear 
God; any one also, from external thought and affection, may 
speak of the justice of civil laws, of the virtues of moral life, 
and of the things which relate to spiritual doctrine and life, 
and yet, from internal thought and its affection, when he is 
alone by himself, may speak against civil laws, against moral 
virtues, and against the things which relate to spiritual doctrine 
and life. This is the case with such as are in the coneupiscences 
of evil, and still wish to appear before the world not to be in 
them. Most people also, whilst they hear others speaking, 
think with themselves, Do they think interiorly in themselves, 
as they express their thoughts in their speech? Are they to be 
believed or not? What is it they intend? It is known that 
flatterers and hypocrites have a double thought; for they can 
restrain themselves, and take care that their interior thought 
shall not be opened, and indeed can conceal it more and more 
interiorly, and as it were shut up the door lest it should appear. 
That exterior and interior thought is given to a man, is evidently 
manifest from this consideration, that he can from his interior 
thought see his exterior thought, and also reflect upon it, and 
judge of it, whether it be evil or not evil. This quality of his 
mind a man derives from the two faculties, which he has from the 
Lord, called liberty and rationality, from which, if he had not 
an external and an internal of thought, he could not perceive 
and see any evil in himself, and be reformed ; neither could he 
even speak, but only utter sounds like a beast. 

105. The internal of thought is from the life’s love and its 
affections and consequent perceptions; while the external is 
from the things which are in the memory, and which are sub- 
servient to the life’s love for confirmations and for means to 
attain its end. A man, from infancy to youth, is in the external 
of thought derived from the affection of knowing, which then 
makes his internal; and there transpires also something of con- 
cupiscence and thence of inclination derived from the life’s love 
connate from his parents. But afterwards, as he lives, his life’s 
love is formed, the affections and consequent perceptions of 
which make the internal of his thought; and from the life’s 
love is produced the love of means, the delights of which, and 
the sciences excited thence from the memory, make the exter- 
nal of his thought. 

106. Ll. Lhat the external of a man’s thought ts in itself 
such as is its ternal. That a man from head to foot is such ag 
his life’s love is, was shown above: here, therefore, it may be 
expedient to premise something concerning the life’s love, before 
we proceed to speak of the affections, which, together with per- 
ceptions, make a man’s internal, and of the delights of the 
affections, which, together with the thoughts, make his ex- 
ternal. Loves are manifold; but there are two loves like lords 

61 


106—108 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and kings—celestial love and infernal love. Celestial love is 
love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, and infernal love 
is the love of self and of the world. These loves are opposite 
to each other, as are heaven and hell; for he who is in the love 
of self and of the world wills not good to any one but himself, 
but he who is in love to the Lord and towards his neighbour 
wills good to all. These two loves are the loves of a man’s 
lite, but with much variety; celestial love is the life’s love of 
those whom the Lord leads, and infernal love is the life’s love of 
those whom the devil leads. But the life’s love of no one can 
exist without derivations, which are called affections. The de- 
rivations of infernal love are affections of evil and of falsity, 
properly called concupiscences ; and the derivations of celestial 
love are affections of good and truth, properly called dilections. 
The affections of infernal love, which properly are concupis- 
cences, are as many as there are evils; and the affections of 
celestial love, which properly are dilections, are as many as 
there are goods. The love dwells in its affections, as a lord in 
his domain, or as a king in his kingdom. Its dominion or king- 
dom is over the things which belong to the mind, that is, which 
belong to the will and the understanding of a man, and thence 
to his body. The life’s love of a man, by its affections and the 
perceptions thence derived, and by its delights and the thoughts 
thence derived, governs the whole man,—the internal of his 
mind by its affections and the perceptions thence derived, and 
the external of his mind by the delights of its affections and the 
thoughts thence derived. 

107. The form of this government may in some measure be 
seen by comparisons. Celestial love with the affections of good 
and truth and the perceptions thence derived, and at the same 
time with the delights of these affections and the thoughts thence 
derived, may be compared to a beautiful tree with branches, 
leaves, and fruits. The life’s love is that tree; the branches 
with the leaves are the affections of good and truth with their per- 
ceptions and the fruits are the delights of the affections with . 
their thoughts. But infernal love, with its affections of evil and 
falsity, which are concupiscences, and at the same time with the 
delights of these concupiscences and the thoughts thence derived, 
may be compared to a spider and the web which encompasses it. 
The love itself, is the spider ; the concupiscences of evil and fal- 
sity, with their interior wiles, are the retiform threads nearest 
to the seat of the spider; and the delights of these concupis- 
cences, with deceitful machinations, are the more remote threads 
where flies are caught, entangled, and devoured. 

108. From these comparisons may be seen indeed the con- 
junction of all things of the will and understanding, or of 
the mind of a man, with his life’s love, but yet not rationally. 
Such conjunction may be seen rationally thus: There are every 

2 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 108, 109 


where three things together which make one, and are called 
end, cause, and effect ; of which the life’s love in a man is the 
end, the affections with their perceptions are the cause, and the 
delights of the affections with their thoughts are the effect ; for 
in such a manner as the end by the cause comes into effect, so 
also love by its affections descends to its delights, and by its 
perceptions to its thoughts. [Effects are really in the delights 
of the mind and their thoughts, when the delights are of the 
will and the thoughts are of the understanding thence derived, 
consequently, when there is a full consent therein. They are 
in this case effects of the spirit, which, although they do not 
come into bodily action, are still as it were in act, when there 
is consent; and they are also then together in the body, and 
dwell there with the life’s love, and aspire after action, which is 
produced when nothing hinders. Such are the concupiscences 
of evil, and evils themselves in those who make evils allowable 
in their spirit. Now as the end joins itself with the cause, and 
by the cause with the effect,so the life’s love joins itself with 
the internal principle of thought, and by that with its external. 
Hence it is evident, that the external of a man’s thought is 
in itself such as is its internal; for the end infuses all its quality 
into the cause, and through the cause into the effect, there 
being nothing essential in the effect but what is in the cause, 
and through the cause in the end; and as the end is thus the 
very essential principle which enters the cause and the effect, 
therefore the cause and effect are called the middle end and the 
ultimate end. 

109. It appears sometimes as if the external of the thought 
of a man was not in itself such as is its internal; but this hap- 
pens because the life’s love, with its internals about it, places 
below itself a substitute which is called the love of means, and 
appoints it to take heed and guard lest any thing of its con- 
cupiscences should appear; consequently that substitute (or 
deputy) from the craftiness of its prince, which is the life’s love, 
speaks and acts according to the civil institutions of the king- 
dom, according to the morals of reason, and according to the 
spirituals of the church, so cunningly indeed and ingeniously, 
that no one sees but that persons are such as their speech and 
actions seem to indicate; and at length, by encompassing them 
selves with a veil, they scarcely know any otherwise themselves. 
Such are all hypocrites; and such are priests, who in their 
hearts make light of their neighbour, and fear not God, yet 
preach concerning the love of their neighbour and the love of 
God ; such are judges, who decide under the influence of bribes 
and friendships, while they profess a zeal for justice, and speak 
of judgment from reason; such are merchants, insincere and 
fraudulent at heart, when they act sincerely for the sake of in- 
terest; such are adulterers, when from that rationality which 

63 


109—111 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


every man possesses they speak of the chastity of marriage , 
and so in other instances. But these same persons, if they 
strip the love of means, the substitute of their life’s love, of 
the garments of purple and fine linen with which they have in- 
vested it, and clothe it in its domestic dress, then they think, 
and sometimes in communication with their intimate friends, 
who are in a similar life’s love, even speak directly the contrary. 
It may be supposed, when from the love of means they have 
spoken so justly, sincerely, and piously, that then the quality 
of their internal thought was not in the external of their 
thought; but nevertheless it was, there being hypocrisy and the 
love of self and the world in those whose cunning it is, for the 
sake of honor or interest, to seek reputation by an outward ap- 
pearance. This quality of the internal is in the external of 
their thought, when they so speak and act. 

110. But with those who are in celestial love, the internal 
and external of thought, or the internal and external man, 
make one when they speak, nor do they know any difference. 
Their life’s love, with its affections of good and their percep- 
tions of truth, is as the soul in whatever they think, and 
thence speak and do. If they are priests, they preach from 
love towards their neighbour and love to the Lord; if they are 
judges, they judge from justice itself; if they are merchants, 
they act from sincerity itself; if they are married men, they 
love their wives from chastity itself; and so on. Their life’s 
love also has a love of means, as its substitute, which it teaches 
and leads to act from prudence, and clothes in garments of 
zeal for the truths of doctrine and at the same time for the 
goods of life. 

111. Ul. Lhat the internal cannot be purified from the con- 
cuprscences of evil so long as evils in the external man are not 
removed, because they obstruct, follows from what was said above, 
that the external of a man’s thought is in itself such as is 
the internal of his thought, and that they adhere together not 
only as one within, but also as from, the other; therefore one 
of them cannot be separated without the other. So it is with 
every external which is from an internal, with every posterior 
which is from a prior, and with every effect which is from a 
cause. Now, since concupiscences, together with craftiness, 
make the internal of thought with the wicked, and the delights 
of concupiscences, together with machinations, make the ex- 
ternal of their thought, and the latter are joined with the 
former in one, it follows, that the internal cannot be purified 
from concupiscences so long as evils in the external man are 
not removed. It must be observed, that it is a man’s internal 
will which is in concupiscences, and his internal understand- 
ing which is in craftiness ; also, that it is his external will which 
is in the delights of concupiscences, and his external under- 

64 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. pid Mion VE. 


standing which is in machinations from craftiness. Every one 
may see that concupiscences and their delights make one, also 
that craftiness and machinations make one, and that these four 
are in one series, and make together, as it were, one bundle: 
from which consideration it is again evident, that the internal, 
which consists of concupiscences, cannot be cast out except by 
the removal of the external, which consists of evils. Concu- 
piscences by their delights produce evils ; but when evils are 
believed to be allowable, which happens by consent of the will 
and understanding, then the delights and evils make one. That 
consent is equivalent to act, is well known; and is also what 
the Lord says: ‘“ Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after 
her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” 
(Matt. v. 28). It is the same with other evils. 

112. Hence then, it may appear, that in order to a man’s 
being purified from the concupiscences of evil, evils are to be 
entirely removed from the external man ; for until this is done, 
there is no outlet given to concupiscences, and if no outlet be 
given to them, concupiscences remain within, breathe forth 
delights from themselves, and so force a man to consent, con- 
sequently, to action. Concupiscences enter the body by the 
external of thought; therefore when there is consent in the 
external of thought, they are immediately in the body, the de- 
light which is felt being there. That such as is the mind, such 
is the body, consequently the whole man, may be seen in the trea- 
tise concerning Tue Divine Love anp tHe Divine Wispom, 
n. 862—370. The proposition under consideration may be illus- 
trated by comparisons, and also by examples :—By comparisons 
thus : concupiscences with their delights may be compared to 
fire, which the more it is fomented the more it burns; and the 
freer its course, the wider it spreads itself, until, if in a city, 
it consumes the houses, and if in a wood, the trees. The con- 
cupiscences of evil are also compared in the Word to fire, and 
evils proceeding from them to a conflagration. The concupis- 
cences of evil with their delights appear likewise as fires in the 
spiritual world ; infernal fire being nothing else. They may 
also be compared to deluges and inundations of waters, on the 
removal of mounds or dykes. They may also be compared to 
gangrenes and imposthumes, which bring death to the body as 
they spread, or are not cured. By examples, it is clearly evident, 
that if evils in the external man are not removed, concupiscences 
with their delights increase and exuberate. A thief, in propor- 
tion as he practises stealing, has the concupiscence of stealing, 
till at length he is unable to desist. The same is true of a 
fraudulent person, in proportion as he defrauds. It is the same 
also with hatred and revenge, with luxury and intemperance, 
with fornication and blasphemy. It is well known that the love 
of dominion grounded in the love of self increases in proportion 

65 


199 T14 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


as it is indulged, and in like manner the love of possessing goods 
grounded in the love of the world; it appears as if there was no 
bound or end to them. From these considerations it is evident, 
that in proportion as evils in the external man are unremoved, 
the concupiscences thereof abound; and in proportion as evils 
are freed from restraint, concupiscences increase. 

113. A man cannot perceive the concupiscences of his own 
evil. He perceives the delights of them indeed, but he reflects 
little upon them; for delights occupy the thoughts, and take 
away reflections; therefore if he did not from some other source 
know that they are evils, he would call them goods, and would 
commit them from liberty according to the reason of his thought ; 
and when he does this, he appropriates them to himself. In 
proportion as he confirms them as allowable, he enlarges the 
court of his reigning love, which is his life’s love. Its court is 
composed of concupiscences ; for they are as it were its ministers 
and guards, whereby it governs the exteriors which constitute 
its kingdom. But such as the king is, such are his ministers 
and guards, and such is his kingdom: if the king is a devil, 
then his ministers and guards are insanities, and the people of 
his kingdom are falsities of every kind, which his ministers, 
whom they call wise, although they are insane, by reasonings 
from fallacies and by fantasies, make to appear as truths, and 
to be acknowledged as truths. Can such a state of a man be 
changed otherwise than by removing evils in the external man ? 
So also the concupiscences which adhere to evils are removed ; 
otherwise no egress is afforded to concupiscences, for they are 
shut in, like a besieged city, or as an ulcer skinned over. 

114. IV. Lhat evils m the external man cannot be removed 
by the Lord but by means of the man. In all Christian churches 
it is received as a doctrine that a man, before he approaches 
the holy communion, is to examine himself, to see and acknow- 
ledge his sins and to repent, by desisting from them and rejecting 
them because they are from the devil; and that otherwise his 
sins are not forgiven, and he is condemned. The English, 
although they are in the doctrine of faith alone, nevertheless, 
in the prayer at the holy communion, openly teach self-exami- 
nation, the acknowledgment and confession of sins, repentance, 
and a new life, threatening those who do not comply in these 
words, that otherwise the devil will enter into them as he did into 
Judas,and fill them with all iniquity, and destroy them body and 
soul. The Germans, Swedes, and Danes, who are also in faith 
alone, teach the same in the prayer at the holy communion, 
tnreatening also that otherwise infernal punishment and eternal 
damnation will be incurred by reason of the mixture of what is 
sacred and profane. These things are read by the priest with a 
loud voice before those who are about to receive the Lord’s supper, 
and ai heard by them with a full acknowledgment that they 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 114, 115 


are true. Nevertheless, the same persons, when they hear a 
sermon the same day on faith alone, and then that the law does 
not condemn them because the Lord has fulfilled it for them ; 
that from themselves they cannot do any good but what is 
meritorious, and thus that works have nothing of salvation in 
them, but faith only ; they return home entirely forgetful of their 
former confession, and reject it in proportion as they think of 
the sermon on faith alone. Which doctrine now is true,—the 
latter or the former? (for two things contrary to each other 
cannot both be true)—that without an examination, knowledge, 
acknowledgment, confession, and rejection of sins, therefore 
without repentance, there is no remission of them, consequently 
no salvation, but eternal damnation ; or that such things 
contribute nothing towards salvation, because full satisfaction 
for all the sins of men was made by the Lord through the passion 
of the cross for those who are in faith, and that those who are 
in faith only with a confidence that it is so, and in dependence 
on the imputation of the Lord’s merit, are without sins, and 
appear before God like those who have their faces clean washed ? 
From the above it is evident, that the common religion of all 
the churches in the Christian world is, that a man ought to 
examine himself, to see and acknowledge his sins, and after- 
wards to desist from them; and that otherwise there is no sal- 
vation, but condemnation. That this moreover is Divine Truth 
itself, is obvious from those passages in the Word in which men 
are commanded to repent; as from these: Jesus said, “ Bring 
forth therefore fruits worthy of Repentance.” “ Now also the 
axe 1s laid unto the root of the trees : every tree therefore which 
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and east into the 
fire” (Luke iii. 8, 9). Jesus said, “ Except ye repent, ye shall 
all likewise perish” (Luke xiii. 3, 5). “ Jesus preached the 
gospel of the kingdom of God; saying Repent ye, and believe 
the gospel” (Mark i. 14, 15). Jesus sent forth his disciples, 
who ‘‘ went out, and preached that men should rEepenr” (Mark 
vi. 12). Jesus said unto the apostles, that they should preach 
“ RePentaNcE AND Remission or Stns AMONG ALL N ATIONS” 
(Luke xxiv. 47). “John did preach the baptism of Repentance 
FoR THE Remisston or Srys” (Mark i. 4; Luke iii, 3). Think 
on this subject also from some degree of understanding ; and if 
you have any religion, you will see that repentance from sins 
is the way to heaven, that faith separate from repentance is not 
faith, and that those who are not in faith in consequence of not 
being in repentance are in the way to hell. 

115. Those who are in faith separate from charity, and have 
confirmed themselves therein from the saying of Paul to the 
Romans, “that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of 
the law” (iii. 28), adore this saying as those who adore the-sun, 
and yen like those who, fixing their eyes steadily upon the 

6 F 


115-117 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


sun, whereby the sight becomes dim, do not see any thing in the 
midst of light; for they do not see what is understood there by 
the deeds of the law,—that they are not the commandments of 
the decalogue, but the rituals described by Moses in his books, 
which are everywhere there called the law; and, therefore, lest 
the commandments of the decalogue should be understood, he 
explains it by saying, ‘‘ Do we then make void the law through 
faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (verse 31 of the 
same chap.). Those who, from the above saying, have confirmed 
themselves in faith separate from charity, by looking at that 
passage as at the sun, do not see where Paul enumerates the 
laws of faith, that they are the very works of charity ; and what 
is faith without its laws? Neither do they see where he enu- 
merates evil works, saying that those who do them cannot enter 
into heaven. From which it is evident, how much blindness is 
induced from this one passage misunderstood. 

116. The reason why evils in the external man cannot be 
removed but by means of the man is, because it is of the Divine 
Providence of the Lord that whatsoever a man hears, sees, 
thinks, wills, speaks, and does, should appear altogether as his 
own. That without this appearance a man would have no re- 
ception of divine truth, no determination to do good, no appro- 
priation of love and wisdom, or of charity and faith, and thence 
no conjunction with the Lord, consequently no reformation and 
regeneration, and thereby salvation, is shown above, n. T1i— 
95, and the following. That without this appearance it is 
evident there can neither be repentance from sins nor even 
faith ; and that a man, without that appearance, is not a man, 
but is void of rational life like a beast. Let him who is so dis- 
posed consult his own reason, as to whether it does not appear 
that a man thinks from himself of good and truth, as well spirit- 
ual as moral and civil. Let him then receive this doctrinal,— 
that all good and truth is frem the Lord, and nothing from the 
man : and will he not acknowledge this consequence, that a man 
ought to do good and think truth as from himself, but still to 
acknowledge that they are from the Lord ; therefore, also, that 
aman ought to remove evils as from himself, but nevertheless to 
acknowledge that he does it from the Lord? 

117. There are many who do not know that they are in 
evils, because they do not commit them in externals ; for they 
are afraid of civil laws, as well as of the loss of reputation, and 
thus they acquire a custom and habit of shunning evils as 
detrimental to their honor and interest. But if they do not 
shun evils from a principle of religion, because they are sins, 
and against God, then the concupiscences of evils with their 
delights remain in them, like impure waters obstructed or stag- 
nant. Let them explore their thoughts and intentions, and 
they will find these concupiscences, provided they know what 

68 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. LLFsa1'L9 


sin is. There are many such persons, who, having confirmed 
themselves in faith separate from charity, and because they 
believe that the law does not condemn, do not even attend to 
sins, and indeed doubt whether there be any such thing, or 
think that if there be, they are not such in the sight of God, 
because they are forgiven. Such also are natural moralists, who 
think civil and moral life, with the prudence belonging to it, 
effects all things, and the Divine Providence nothing. And, 
such are those who studiously affect the reputation and name 
of honesty and sincerity for the sake of honor or interest. But 
those who are such, and at the same time spurn religion, be- 
come after death spirits of concupiscences, who appear to them- 
selves as if they were real men, but to others at a distance as 
priapuses ; and like owls they see in the dark, and not at all in 
the light. 

118. From these considerations now follows the confirmation 
of Article V., which is, that en fis aman ought to remove evils 
Srom the external man as from himself. This may also be seen 
explained in Tue Docrrins or Lire ror tun New J ERUSALEM, 
in three articles ; one of which is, that no one can shun evils as 
sins, so as interiorly to have an aversion for them, except by 
combats against them, n. 92—100; another, that a man ought 
to shun evils as sins, and to fight against them as from himself, 
n. 101—107; the third, that if any one shuns evils from any 
other cause than because they are sins, he does not shun them, 
but only causes them not to appear before the world, n. 108 
—113. 

119. VI. That the Lord then purifies him from the concupt- 
scences of evil in the internal man, and from evils themselves in the 
external. ‘The reason why the Lord purifies a man from the 
concupiscences of evil, when the man removes evils as from 
himself, is because the Lord cannot purify him until he does 
this; for there are evils in the external man, and concupiscen- 
ces of evil in the internal, and these cohere together like the 
roots of a tree to their trunk. Unless, therefore, the evils are 
removed, there is no opening; for they obstruct and close the 
door, which cannot be opened by the Lord except by means of 
the man as was shown above. When aman does so open the 
door as from himself, then the Lord immediately extirpates the 
concupiscences. Another reason is, because the Lord acts upon 
the inmost of a man, and from the inmost upon the next in 
order, even to the ultimates; and in the ultimates the man is 
entire. So long therefore as the ultimates are kept closed by 
the man himself, there cannot be any purification effected by 
the Lord, but only such an operation in the interiors as the 
Lord produces in hell, of which the man is a form who is in 
concupiscences and at the same time in evils ; and that operation 
is a disposition only that one may not destroy another, and 

| 9 


119==131 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


that goodness and truth may not be violated. That the Lord 
continually urges and presses that a man may open the door 
to him, is evident from his own words in the Revelation, “ Be- 
hold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my 
voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup 
with him, and he with me” (iil. 20). 

120. A man knows nothing at all of the state of the inte- 
rior of his mind, or of his internal man, and yet there are in- 
finite things there, not one of which comes to his knowledge ; 
for the internal of a man’s thought, or his internal man, is 
his spirit itself, and in it there are things as infinite or innumer- 
able as there are inaman’s body. They must, indeed, be fully 
as innumerable ; fora man’s spirit is in its form a man, and all 
things thereof correspond to all the things of a man as to his 
body. Now, since aman has no knowledge from any sensation, 
how his mind or soul operates upon all things of his body jointly 
and severally, so neither does he know how the Lord operates 
upon all things of his mind or soul, that is, upon all things ot 
his spirit. The operation is continual and the man has no share 
in it; but yet the Lord cannot purify him from any concupi- 
scence of evil in his spirit or internal man, so long as he keeps 
his external closed. ‘There are evils by which a man keeps his 
external closed, each of which appears to him as one, although 
there are infinite numbers in each; and when a man removes 
this seeming one, the Lord removes the infinite numbers in it. 
This is what is meant by the Lord’s purifying a man from the 
concupiscences of evil in the internal man, and from evils them- 
selves in the external. 

121. It is thought by many, that merely to believe that 
which the church teaches, purities a man from evils ; and it is 
thought by some, that to do good purifies ; by some, to know, 
speak, and teach such things as are of the church; by some, 
to read the Word and books of piety ; by some, to frequent 
churches, to hear sermons, and especially to receive the holy 
supper; by some, to renounce the world, and study piety; by 
some, to confess themselves guilty of all sins; andso on. But, 
nevertheless, none of these things do at all purify a man unless 
he examines himself, perceives his sins, acknowledges them, 
condemns himself on account of them, and repents by desisting 
from them; and all these things he must do as from himself, 
but still from an acknowledgment of the heart that he does 
them from the Lord. Before they are done, the acts just men- 
tioned avail nothing, for they are either meritorious or hypocri- 
tical; and they appear in heaven before the angels either like 
beautiful harlots smelling offensively from their defilement, like 
deformed women appearing handsome by means of paint, like 
actors and mimics on the stage, or like apes in human apparel. 
But ae evils are removed, the acts before enumerated become 

0 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 121-—198 


acts of the love, and then the doers thereof appear in heaven 
before the angels as beautiful men, and as their associates and 
companions. 

122. But it should be well known, that a man in doing the 
work of repentance ought to look up to the Lord alone. If he 
looks up to God the Father only, he cannot be purified ; nor if 
to the Father for the sake of the Son; nor if to the Son as a 
man only; for there is one God, and the Lord is he; for his 
divine and human essence constitute one person, as is shown in 
Tsu Docrrive or tur New Jervsatem CONCERNING THE Lorp. 
Tn order that every one in the work of repentance might look to 
the Lord alone, he instituted the holy supper, which confirms, to 
those who repent, the remission of sins ; and it confirms it, be- 
cause in that supper or communion every one is kept looking to 
the Lord only. 

123. VI. That ct 2s the continual endeavour of the Divine 
Providence of the Lord, to join a man to himself and himself to 
aman, that he may be able to give him the Selicities of eternal 
life ; which cannot be done, except in proportion as evils with their 
concupuscences are removed. That it is the continual endeavour 
of the Divine Providence of the Lord to join a man to himself 
and himself toa man ; that it is this conjunction which is called 
reformation and regeneration; and that a man has thence salya- 
tion, was shown above, n. 2745. Who does not see that 
conjunction with God is salvation and eternal life? This is seen 
by every one who believes that men by creation are images and 
likenesses of God (Gen. i. 26, 27), and who knows what an 
Image and likeness of God is. Who that has sound reason, 
when he thinks from his rationality, and wills to think from his 
liberty, can believe that there are three Gods, equal in essence, 
and that the Divine Esse or Divine Essence can be divided 4 
That there is a trine in one God, may be thought and compre- 
hended, as are comprehended the soul and body in an angel 
and in a man, and the sphere of life proceeding from them: 
and as this trine in one exists in the Lord orly, it follows, that 
conjunction must be with him. Make use of your rationality, 
and at the same time of your liberty of thinking, and you will 
see this truth in its light, only first admitting, that there is a 
God, and that there is a heaven and eternal life. Now since 
God is one, and man by creation was made an image and like- 
ness of him, and since, by infernal love, and its concupiscences 
and their delights, he came into the love of all evils, and thence 
destroyed in himself the image and likeness of God, it follows, 
that it is the continual endeavour of the Divine Providence of 
the Lord to conjoin a man to himself and himself to a man, 
and thus to make a man into his image. It follows also, that 
this is in order that the Lord may be able to give a man the 
felicities of eternal life, for such is the nature of the divine 

1 | 


123, 124 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


love. But the reason why he cannot give those felicities, nor 
make a man an image of himself, unless a man as from himself 
remove sins in the external man, is, because the Lord is not 
only divine love, but also divine wisdom, and divine love does 
nothing but from and according to its divine wisdom. It is 
according to his divine wisdom that a man cannot be conjoined 
to the Lord, and so reformed, regenerated, and saved, unless 
he is permitted to act from liberty according to reason, for 
thereby a man is a man; and whatsoever is according to the 
divine wisdom of the Lord, that also is of his Divine Pro- 
vidence. 

124. To what has been said I will add two arcana of angelic 
wisdom, from which the nature of the Divine Providence may 
be seen. The first is, that the Lord never acts upon any par- 
ticular principle in a man separately, but upon all together : 
the other is, that the Lord acts from inmost principles and from 
ultimate or lowest principles at the same time. Zhe reason why 
the Lord never acts upon any particular principle in a man sepa- 
rately, but upon all together, is, because all things of a man are 
in such a connection, and by their connection in such a form, 
that they act not as several, but as one. It is known that a 
man is in such a connection, and by that connection in such a 
form as to his body; and in a similar form, by virtue of the 
connection of the whole, is the human mind also, for that is 
the spiritual man, and is indeed truly a man. Hence it is that 
a man’s spirit, which is his mind in the body, is a man in every 
particular of its form, and therefore after death a man is equally 
a man as in the world, with this difference only, that he has put 
off that covering which constituted his body in the world. Now, 
as the human form is such, that all its parts make & one which 
acts as one, it follows, that one part cannot be removed out of 
its place and changed as to its state, but in agreement with the 
rest; for if one were removed out of its place and changed as 
to its state, the form which must act as one would suffer. From 
this it is evident, that the Lord never acts upon any particular 
part or principle, unless upon all together. Thus does he act 
upon the universal angelic heaven, because that in his sight is 
as one man ; so also does he act upon every angel, because every 
angel is a heaven in its least form; and so also does he act upon 
every man, proximately upon all things of his mind, and through 
these upon all things of his body ; for a man’s mind is his spirit, 
and according to its conjunction with the Lord is an angel, and 
his body is obedience. But it is to be well observed, that the 
Lord acts also singularly, yea most singularly upon every par- 
ticular of a man, yet at the same time through all things of 
his form; but he does not change the state of any part, or of 
any thing in particular, except so far as is suitable to the whole 
form. Of this, however, more will be said in what follows, 

72 : 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 124, 125 


where it will be demonstrated, that the Divine Providence of 
the Lord is universal, because it is in particulars, and that it is 
particular because it is universal. Zhe reason why the Lord acts 
Jrom immost and from ultimate principles at the same time, is, 
because in this way and no other all and singular things are 
contained in connection; intermediate principles depending 
successively upon the inmost even to the ultimate, and in ulti- 
mate principles they exist all together; for it is shown in the 
treatise On THE Divine Love anv tHe Drvive Wispom, part 
the third, that in the ultimate principle there is the simultane- 
ous derived from the first of all principles. Hence also it is, 
that the Lord from eternity, or Jehovah, came into the world, 
and there put on and assumed the human nature in ultimate 
principles, that he might be from first principles and in ultimate 
at the same time; thus from first principles by ultimate might 
govern the universal world, and so save men; whom he is able 
to save according to the laws of his Divine Providence, which 
are also the laws of his divine wisdom. In this manner, there- 
fore, is true, what is known in all Christian countries, that no 
mortal could have been saved, except the Lord had come into 
the world, respecting which Tur Docrriss or tum New Jerv- 
SALEM CONCERNING I|*arrn, n. 35, may be consulted. It is on 
this account that the Lord is called the First and the Last. 
125. These angelic arcana are premised, in order that it 
may be comprehended, how the Divine Providence of the Lord 
operates, that he may conjoin a man to himself, and himself to 
aman. This is not effected upon a particular of a man sepa- 
rately, but upon the whole of him together; and it is done from 
his inmost and his ultimate principles at the same time. His 
life’s love is the inmost of a man; the things which are in the 
external of his thought are the ultimates; and the things which 
are in the internal of his thought are the intermediates. The 
nature and quality of these principles, in a wicked man, was 
shown in the foregoing pages ; from which consideration it is 
again evident, that the Lord cannot act from inmost and ulti- 
mate principles at the same time, except together with a man, 
for a man is together with the Lord in ultimate principles ; 
therefore, as a man acts in ultimate principles, which are at his 
disposal, because subject to his free-will, so the Lord acts from 
his inmost principles, and upon the successive to the ultimate. 
The things which are in a man’s inmost principles, aid in the 
successive from the inmost to the ultimate, are altogether un- 
known to him, and therefore he is totally ignorant how and 
what the Lord works there; but since they cohere as one with 
the ultimate principles, it is not therefore necessary for a man 
to know more than that he ought to shun evils as sins, and 
look WN to the Lord. In this and in no other way can his life’s 
3 


125—128 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


love, which by birth is infernal, be removed by the Lord, and 
a love of celestial life be implanted in its place. 

126. When the love of celestial life is implanted by the 
Lord in place of the love of infernal life, then, in place of the 
concupiscences of evil and falsity are implanted affections of 
good and truth, in place of the delights of the concupiscences 
of evil and falsity are implanted the delights of the affections 
of good, and in place of the evils of infernal love are implanted 
the goods of celestial love; then, also, instead of cunning is 
implanted prudence, and instead of thoughts of malice are im- 
planted thoughts of wisdom. Thus a man is born again, and 
becomes anew man. What goods succeed in the place of evils, 
may be seen in Tue Docrrine or Lire ror tHE New Jxrv- 
SALEM, n. 67—73, 74—7T9, 80—86, 87—91. Also, that in 
proportion as aman shuns and turns away from evils as sins, 
he loves the truths of wisdom, n. 32—41; and that in the 
same proportion he possesses faith, and becomes spiritual, n. 
49—5 2, 

127. That it is according to the religion common in the 
universal Christian world, that a man should examine himself, 
perceive his sins, acknowledge them, confess them before God, 
and desist from them, and that this is repentance, remission of 
sins, and thence salvation, was shown above from the prayers 
read before the holy communion in all the Christian churches. 
The same may also appear from the creed that has its name 
from Athanasius, which likewise is received in the whole Chris- 
tian world, and at the end of which are these words :—“‘ The 
Lord shall come to judge the quick and the dead, at whose 
coming those that have done good shall go into life everlasting, 
and those that have done evil into everlasting fire.” 

128. Who does not know from the Word, that the life of 
every one after death is according to his actions? Open the 
Word, read it, and you will clearly see it ; but in this case remove 
your thoughts from faith, and justification by it alone. That 
the Lord in his Word everywhere teaches this, let these few 
passages testify: “Every tree that bringeth not forth coop 
Fruir is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by their 
Fruits ye shall know them” (Matt. vii. 19, 20). “ Many will 
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in 
thy name? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And 
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from 
me, ye that work miqurry” (Matt. vii. 22, 23). ‘ Whosoever 
heareth these sayings of mine, and porrn ruem, I will liken 
him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: but 
every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and porrm THEM 
not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house 
upon the sand” (Matt. vii. 24, 26; Luke vi. 46—49). “The Son 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 128 


of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, and then he shall 
REWARD EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WorKS” (Matt. xvi. 27). 
“The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a 
nation BRINGING FORTH THE FRUITS THEREOF”? (Matt. xxi. 43), 
“Jesus said, My mother and my brethren are these, whic 

hear the word of God and po rr” (Luke viii. 21). “Then ye 
shall begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, 
Lord, open unto us; but he shall answer and say unto you, I 
know you not whence ye are; depart from me all ye workers 
of iniquity” (Luke xiii. 25—27). “ And shall come forth, they 
that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that 
have done xvi, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John v. 
29). ‘“ We know that God heareth not stvers: but if any man 
be a worshipper of God, anp porrn His wit, him he heareth” 
(ix. 31). “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye Do 
THEM”? (John xiii. 17). “He that hath my commandments, 
and KEEPETH THEM, he it is that loveth me; and I will love 
him, and will come to him, and will make my abode with him 
(John xiv. 15, 21—24). “Ye are my friends, 1 ye po what- 
soever I command you. I have chosen you, that ye should 
BRING FORTH FrRuIT, and that your rrurr should remain” 
(John xv. 14,16). “The Lord said unto John, Unto the angel 
of the church of Ephesus write, I know ray works: I have 
against thee, that thou has left thy first rove, REPENT AND Do 
THE FIRST works; or else I will remove thy candlestick out of 
his place” (Rev. ii. 1, 2, 4, 5). “Unto the angel of the church 
of Smyrna write, I kNow Tuy works” (Rev. ii. 8). ‘Unto the 
angel of the church in Pergamos write, 1 Know THY works. 
Repent” (Rev. ii. 12, 18, 16). “ Unto the angel of the church 
in Thyatira write, I KNow THY WORKS AND CHARITY; AND THY 
Last works to be more than the first” (Rev.ii. 18). ‘ Unto 
the angel of the church in Sardis write, I know ty WORKS, 
that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. I wave 
NOT FOUND THY WORKS PERFECT BEFORE Gop. Repent’ (Rev. 
ill. 1, 2, 8). ‘ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia 
write, | KNow tHy works” (Rev. iii. 7, 8). “¢ Unto the angel 
of the church of the Laodiceans write, I KNow THY works. 
Rerenr” (Rev. iii. 14, 15, 19). “I heard a voice from heaven 
saying, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
henceforth ; THEM WorKs Do FOLLOW THEM” (Rey. xiv. 13). 
“A book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead 
were judged, ALL Accorpine To THEIR worKs” (Rev. xx. 12, 18). 
“ Behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, 10 GtvE 
EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WorK” (Rev. xxii. 12). These 
passages are in the New Testament: there are still more in the 
Old, out of which I will adduce only this: “ Stand in the gate 
of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word: Thus saith 
Nag of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and 

5 


128, 129 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


your doings; trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple 
of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah are 
these. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear 
falsely, and come and stand before me, in this house, which is 
called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these 
abominations? Is this house become aden of robbers? Behold, 
even I have seen it, saith Jehovah” (Jer. vii. 2, 8, 4, 9, 10, 11). 


THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN 
SHOULD NOT BE FORCED BY EXTERNAL MEANS TO THINK 
AND WILL, AND SO TO BELIEVE AND LOVE THE THINGS 
WHICH ARE OF RELIGION; BUT THAT A MAN SHOULD LEAD, 
AND SOMETIMES FORCE HIMSELF TO IT. 


129. Ts law of the Divine Providence follows from the 
two preceding, which are, That a man should act from liberty 
according to reason, of which see n. 71—99: and this from 
himself, although from the Lord, therefore as if from himself, 
of which see n. 100—128. And since to be forced is not to act 
from liberty according to reason, and is not from himself, but 
from what is not liberty and from another, therefore this law 
of the Divine Providence follows in order after the two former. 
Every one knows also that no person can be forced to think 
that which he will not think, and to will that which he thinks 
not to will; or therefore to believe that which he does not be- 
lieve, and especially that which he will not believe ; or to love 
that which he does not love,and especially that which he will not 
love; for a man’s spirit, or his mind, is in full liberty to think, 
will, believe, and love. It is in this liberty by virtue of influx 
from the spiritual world, which does not force, (for a man’s 
spirit or mind is in that world;) but not by virtue of influx 
from the natural world, which is not received, unless they act 
as one. A man may be compelled to say, that he thinks and 
wills such and such things, and that he believes and loves such 
and such things; but if they are not or do not become objects 
of his affection and thence of his reason, he nevertheless does 
not think, will, believe, and love them. A man may be com- 
pelled also to speak in favour of religion, and to act according 
to it; but he cannot be compelled to think in favour of it from 
any faith, and to will it from any love. Every one also, in 
kingdoms where justice and judgment are preserved, is re- 
strained from speaking and acting against religion; yet still, 
no one can be forced to think and will in favour of it; for it is 
in the liberty of every one to think with hell, and to will in 

76 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 129, 130 


favour of it, as likewise to think and will in favour of heaven. 
But reason teaches what the one is, and what the other; also 
what portion awaits the one, and what the other; and the will 
from reason has its option and election. Hence it may appear, 
that what is external cannot force what is internal: neverthe- 
less, this is sometimes the case; but that to do so is hurtful, 
will be shown in the following order. I. That no one is reformed 
by miracles and signs, because they force. II. That no one is 
reformed by visions and by conversations with the dead, because 
they force. III. That no one is reformed by threats and pun- 
ishments, because they force. IV. That no one is reformed 
in states which are not of rationality and liberty. V. That it 
is not contrary to rationality and liberty for a man to force him- 
self. VI. That the external man is to be reformed by the in- 
ternal, and not contrariwise. 

130. I. That no one is reformed by miracles and signs, be- 
cause they force. It has been previously shown, that a man has 
an internal and an external principle of thought; and that the 
Lord in a man flows through the internal of thought into its ex- 
ternal and so teaches and leads him; also, that it is from the 
Divine Providence of the Lord, that a man should act from li- 
berty according to reason; but both these laws of man’s being 
would be nullified if miracles were performed, and the man 
by them were compelled to believe. That such would be the 
case, may be rationally seen thus: it cannot be denied that 
miracles induce a belief, and strongly persuade, that that is 
true which is said and taught by him who performs miracles ; 
and that this at first so occupies the external of man’sthought, as 
in a manner to fascinate and enchain it: but the man is hereby 
deprived of his two faculties, called rationality and liberty, by 
which he is enabled to act from freedom according to reason ; 
and then the Lord cannot flow-in through the internal into the 
external of his thought, but only leaves him to confirm from 
his rationality that thing which by the miracle was made an 
object of his belief. The state of a man’s thought is such, that 
from the internal thereof he sees a thing in the external as it 
were in a glass; for, as was said above, a man can: see his 
thought, which can only be from interior thought. When he 
sees an object as in a glass, he can also turn it this way or 
that, and. fashion it, till it appears to himself beautiful; and 
this object, if it be a truth, may be compared to a living and 
beautiful virgin or youth. But if the man cannot turn it this 
way or that, and so fashion it, but only believe it from persua- 
sion induced by a miracle, in this case, if it be a truth, it may 
be compared to a virgin or youth cut out of stone or wood, in 
which there is no life. It may also be compared to an object 
constantly before the sight, which, itself only being seen, hides 
all a is on each side and behind it, It may also be compared 


I380—132 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


to one continual sound in the ear, which takes away the per: 
ception of harmony arising from several sounds. Such is the 
degree of blindness and deafness induced in the human mind 
by miracles. It is the same with every thing confirmed, which 
is not seen from some rationality before it is confirmed. 

131. From these considerations it may appear, that faith 
induced by miracles is not faith, but persuasion; for there is 
nothing rational in it; still less any thing spiritual, it being 
merely external without any internal principle. It is the same 
with all that a man does from such persuasive faith, whether he 
acknowledge God, or worship him at home or at church, or per- 
form acts of kindness. When a miracle alone leads a man to 
the acknowledgment of God, to worship, and to piety, he acts 
from the natural man, and not from the spiritual ; for a miracle 
infuses faith by an external, and not by an internal way, there- 
fore from the world, and not from heaven: but the Lord does 
not enter into a man by any other than by an internal way, 
which is by the Word, and by doctrine and preachings derived 
from the Word ; and as miracles shut up this way, therefore at 
this day no miracles are wrought. 

132. That such is the nature of miracles may plainly appear 
from those wrought before the Jewish and Israelitish people. 
Although they saw so many miracles in the land of Egypt, 
afterwards at_ the Red Sea, others in the desert, and especially 
upon Mount Sinai, when the law was promulgated, yet, in the 
space of a month, when Moses tarried upon that mountain, they 
made themselves a golden calf, and acknowledged it for Jehovah 
who brought them out of the land of Egypt (Exod. xxxii.4, 5, 6). 
The same also may appear from the miracles wrought afterwards 
in the land of Canaan, notwithstanding which the people so 
often departed from the worship that was commanded; and 
from the miracles which the Lord wrought before them when 
he was in the world, notwithstanding which they crucified him. 
The reason why miracles were wrought among the Jews and 
Israelites was, because they were altogether external men, and 
were introduced into the land of Canaan merely that they might 
represent a church and its internal principles by the external 
things of worship ; and a wicked man may bea representative as 
well as a good man. The external things of worship among 
them were rituals, all which signified spiritual and. celestial 
things. Even Aaron, although he made the golden calf, and 
commanded the worship of it (Exod. xxxii. 2—5, 35), could, 
nevertheless, represent the Lord and his work of salvation. 
And as they could not, by the internal principles of worship, 
be led to represent these things, therefore they were led, yea 
forced and compelled to it, by miracles. The reason why they 
could not be brought to such representation by the internal 
asa of worship was, because they did not acknowledge 

8 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 1302—to4. 


the Lord, although the whole Word, which was among them, 
treats of him only; and he who does not acknowledge the Lord 
cannot receive any internal worship. But, after the Lord 
manifested himself, and was received and acknowledged in the 
churches as the eternal God, miracles ceased. 

133. The effect of miracles upon the good, however, is dif- 
ferent from what it is upon the wicked. The good do not desire 
miracles, but they believe the miracles which are recorded in 
the Word; and if they hear any thing of a miracle, they attend 
no otherwise to it than as a light argument which confirms 
their faith, for they think from the Word, consequently from 
the Lord, and not from a miracle. It is otherwise with the 
wicked: they indeed may be driven and forced into faith, and 
even into worship and piety, but only for a short time; for 
their evils being shut in, the concupiscences thereof and the de- 
lights thence derived continually act against the external of 
their worship and piety ; and in order that these evils may escape 
from confinement and break out, they think about the miracle, 
and at length call it a delusion or an artifice, or an operation 
of nature, and so return into their evils; and he who returns 
into his evils after worship, profanes the truths and goods of 
worship, and the lot of profaners after death is the worst of all. 
These are those who are meant by the Lord’s words in Matt. 
xii. 43, 44, 45, whose last state is worse than their first. Besides, 
if miracles were to be wrought before those who do not believe 
in consequence of the miracles recorded in the Word, they must 
be continually performed, and constantly presented to their 
view. Irom these considerations, the reason may appear why 
miracles are not performed at this day. 

134. Il. Zhat no one is reformed by visions and by conversing 
with the dead, because they force. Visions are of two kinds, 
divine and diabolical : divine visions are effected by representa- 
tives in heaven, and diabolical visions are effected by magic in 
hell. There are also fantastical visions, which are illusions of 
an abstracted mind. Devine visions, which, as was said, are 
pe by representatives in heaven, are such as the prophets 

ad, who, when they were in them, were not in the body, but 
in the spirit; for visions cannot appear to aman when his body 
isawake. Therefore, when they appeared to the prophets, it is 
said also that they were then in the Spirit ; as is plain from the 
following passages: Ezekiel says, “‘The Spirit took me up, and 
brought me in a vision By THE Spirtr or Gop into Chaldea, 
to them of the captivity; so the viston that I had seen went 
up from me” (xi. 1, 24). Again, he says, that the Spirit lifted 
him up between the earth and the heaven, and brought him in 
the visions or Gop to Jerusalem (viii. 3). In like manner he 
was in a vision of God, or in the Spirit, when he saw four ani- 
mals, which were cherubim (i. x.); as also when he saw the new 

9 


134 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


temple and the new earth, and an angel measuring them (xl. 
xlviii.). That he was then in the visions of God, he declares 
(xl. 2, 26); and that he was in the Spirit (xliii. 5). In a similar 
state was Zechariah, when he saw a man riding among the 
myrtle trees (i. 8); when he saw the four horns and a man with 
a measuring line in his hand (ii. 1, 8); when he saw a candle- 
stick and two olive trees (iv. 1, 8); when he saw a flying roll 
and an ephah (v. 1, 6); when he saw four chariots coming out 
from between two mountains, and horses (vi. 1, and following 
verses). In asimilar state was Daniel, when he saw four beasts 
ascending out of the sea (vii. 1, and following verses) ; and when 
he saw the battle of the ram and the he-goat (viii. 1, and fol- 
lowing verses). That he saw these things in a vision of his 
spirit is stated in chap. vii. 1, 2, 7,13; viii. 2; x. 1, 7,8; and 
that the angel Gabriel was seen of him in a vision (ix. 21). 
John also was in a vision of the spirit, when he saw the things 
which he has described in the Revelation ; as when he saw the 
seven candlesticks and the Son of Man in the midst of them 
(i. 12—16); when he saw a throne in heaven, and one sitting 
on the throne, and four animals, which were cherubim, round 
about it Uv) when he saw the book of life taken by the Lamb 
(v.); when he saw horses coming forth out of the book (vi.); 
when he saw seven angels with trumpets (viii.); when he saw 
the bottomless pit opened, and locusts coming forth out of it 
(ix.); when he saw the dragon and his war with Michael (xii.) ; 
when he saw the two beasts, one coming out of the sea, and 
the other from the earth (xiii.); when he saw the woman sitting 
upon the scarlet beast (xvii.), and Babylon destroyed (xviii.) ; 
when he saw the white horse, and him that sat thereon (xix.) ; 
when he saw the new heaven and the new earth, and the holy 
Jerusalem coming down out of heaven (xxi.); and when he saw 
the river of the water of life (xxii.). That he saw these things 
in a vision of the Spirit is declared (i. 10; iv. 2; v.13 vi. 1; 
xxi. 10). Such were the visions, which appeared out of heaven, 
before the sight of their spirit, and not before the sight of their 
body. Such visions do not exist at this day; for if they did, 
they would not be understood, because they are effected by rep- 
resentatives, the particulars of which signify internal things 
of the church, and arcana of heaven. That visions were also 
to cease when the Lord came into the world, is foretold by 
Daniel (xi. 24). Diabolical visions sometimes have existed, being 
induced by enthusiastic spirits and visionaries, who from the 
delirium they were in called themselves the Holy Ghost: but 
those spirits are now collected by the Lord, and cast into a hell 
separate from the hells of others. From what has been said it is 
evident, that no one can be reformed by any other visions than 
those which are recorded in the Word. There are also funtas- 
tical visions, but these are mere illusions of an abstracted mind. 
80 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 134*—136 


134*. That neither can any one be reformed by speaking 
with the dead, is evident from the Lord’s words concerning the 
rich man in hell, and Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham ; for 
the rich man said, “I pray thee, father Abraham, that thou 
wouldst send Lazarus to my father’s house: for I have five 
brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come 
into this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, They 
have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. But he 
said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from 
the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they 
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded 
though one vose from the dead” (Luke xvi. 27—31). Speaking 
with the dead would have the same effect as miracles before- 
mentioned, viz.: that a man would be persuaded and compelled 
to worship for a short time; but as such compulsion deprives 
aman of rationality, and at the same time shuts in his evils, as 
was said above, the charm or internal restraint becomes dis- 
solved, and the inclosed evils break out with blasphemy and 
profanation. This only happens, however, when spirits induce 
some dogmatic principle of religion, which is never done by any 
good spirit, still less by any angel of heaven. 

135. Nevertheless, to speak with spirits, though rarely with 
angels of heaven, is allowed, and has been for many ages back ; 
but when it is allowed, the spirits speak with a man in his 
mother tongue, and only a few words. Those, however, who 
speak by permission of the Lord, never say any thing which 
takes away the freedom of reason; nor do they teach; for the 
Lord alone teaches a man, though mediately through the Word 
in illumination, which will be spoken of presently. That this 
is the case, has been made known to me by experience. I have 
discoursed with spirits and angels now for several years; nor 
durst any spirit, neither would any angel, say any thing to me, 
much less instruct me, about any thing in the Word, or any 
doctrinal derived from the Word; but the Lord alone, who was 
revealed to me, and afterwards continually did and does appear 
before my eyes as the sun in which he is, even as he appears to 
the angels, taught me and illuminated me. 

136. IL. Zhat no one is reformed by threats and punishments, 
because they force. It is known that the external cannot force 
the internal, but that the internal can force the external. It is 
also known, that the internal is so averse to force from the 
external, that it turns itself away ; and also that external delights 
allure the internal to give its consent and its love: it may also 
be known, that there exists internal constraint and internal 
liberty. But all these points, although they are known, should, 
nevertheless, be illustrated; for there are many things which 
when they are heard are immediately perceived to be as stated, 
because they are truths, and they are thence aftirmed; but if 


136 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


not at the same time confirmed by reasons, they may be invali- 
dated by arguments from fallacies, and at length denied. The 
things, therefore, which are now mentioned as known, are to 
be resumed and rationally confirmed. Frrsr, That the external 
cannot force the internal, but that the internal can force the ex- 
ternal. Who can be forced to believe and to love? It is no 
more possible for any one to be forced to believe, than to be 
forced to think that a thing is so and so when he does not think 
it so; and it is no more possible for any one to be forced to 
love, than to be forced to will that which he does not will; for 
belief is of the thought, and love is of the will. But the internal 
may be restrained by the external from speaking ill against the 
laws of the kingdom, the morals of life, and the sanctities of 
the church. The internal may be thus forced or restrained by 
threats and punishments, and also is and ought to be restrained ; 
but such internal is not an internal properly human, but an 
internal that a man has in common with beasts, which also can 
be forced. The human internal resides above this animal in- 
ternal; and it is the former which is here meant, and which 
cannot be forced. Srconpiy, Zhat the internal ¢s so averse to 
Sorce from the external, that it turns itself away. The reason of 
this is, that the internal wills to be at liberty, and loves liberty ; 
for liberty is of a man’s love or of his life, as was shown above. 
Therefore when liberty perceives itself to be forced, it withdraws 
itself as it were within itself, and averts itself, regarding force 
as its enemy; for the love, which makes a man’s life, is ex- 
asperated, and causes him to think, that thus he is not his own, 
consequently, that he does not live to himself. The reason why 
a man’s internal is such, is grounded in the law of the Divine 
Providence of the Lord, that a man should act from liberty 
according to reason. Hence it is evident, that to force men to 
divine worship by threats and punishments, is hurtful. But 
there are some who suffer themselves to be forced to religion, 
and some who do not. ‘Those who suffer themselves to be forced 
to religion are many of the papists; but it is the case with those 
in whose worship there is nothing internal, but all is external. 
Those who do not suffer themselves to be forced are many of 
the English nation, and hence it is that there is an internal 
in their worship; what is in the external is from the internal. 
The interiors of these latter, as to religion, appear in spiritual 
light like white clouds; but the interiors of the former, as to 
religion, appear in the light of heaven like dark clouds. Both 
these appearances are to be seen in the spiritual world, and 
whoever will may see them when he enters that world after 
death. Moreover, constrained worship shuts in evils, which then 
lie concealed like fire in wood under the ashes, which continues 
to kindle and spread till it breaks out into a flame; whereas 
worship which is not constrained, but spontaneous, does not 
82 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 136 


shut in evils, which, therefore, are like fires that immediately 
burn out and are dispersed. From these considerations it is 
evident, that the internal has such a repugnance to restraint, 
that it averts itself. The reason why the internal can force 
the external, is, because the internal is as a master, and the 
external as a servant. Turrpiy, That external delights allure 
the internal to give its consent and also tts love. Delights are of 
two kinds—those of the understanding and those of the will. 
The delights of the understanding are also delights of wisdom, 
and the delights of the will are also delights of love; for wisdom 
is of the understanding, and love is of the will. Now, since the 
delights of the body and its senses, which are external delights, 
act as one with the internal delights, which are of the under- 
standing and the will, it follows, that as the internal refuses 
constraint from the external, insomuch as to turn itself away, 
so the internal gratefully beholds delight in the external, inso- 
much as to turn itself to it; thus is produced consent on the 
part of the understanding, and love on the part of the will. All 
infants in the spiritual world are introduced into angelic wisdom, 
and by it into celestial love, by delights and pleasantness from 
the Lord; first, by beautiful objects in houses and pleasant 
things in gardens; then, by representatives of spiritual things, 
which affect the interiors of their minds with pleasure; and, 
lastly, by truths of wisdom, and so by goods of love: thus con- 
tinually by delights in their order; first, by the delights of 
the love of the understanding and its wisdom, and lastly, by 
the delights of the love of the will, which becomes their life's 
love, under which the other things, which have entered by 
delights, are kept subordinate. This is done, because all of 
the understanding and will is to be formed by the external 
before it is formed by the internal; all of the understanding 
and will being formed first by the things which enter through 
the senses of the body, especially the sight and hearing; but 
when the first understanding and the first will are formed, 
then the internal of thought regards them as the external of its 


° 


thought, and either conjoins itself with them or separates itself 


from them; conjoining itself with them if they are delightful, 
and separating itself from them if they are not. But it ought 
to be well understood that the internal of the understanding does 
not join itself with the internal of the will, but that the internal 
of the will joins itself with the internal of the understanding, 
and causes a reciprocal conjunction; which, however, is formed 
by the internal of the will, and not at all by the internal of the 
understanding. Hence it is, that a man cannot be reformed by 
faith alone, but by the love of the will which forms faith to 
itself. Fourrury, That there exists internal constraint and 
internal liberty. Internal constraint exists with those whose 
worship is altogether external, and in no degree internal; for 
8 G 


186—133 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


their internal is to think and will that to which their external 
is forced. Such are those whose worship is directed to men, 
both living and dead, and thence to idols, and who are in the 
faith of miracles. In these there is no internal, but what is, at 
the same time, external. But in those whose worship is internal, 
there exists internal constraint, of which there are two kinds, 
one from fear and another from love. Internal constraint from 
fear exists in those whose worship originates in the fear of infer- 
nal torment and its fire; but in this case the internal is not the 
internal of thought, before treated of, but the external of thought, 
which is here called internal, because it is of thought. The 
internal of thought, which. was before treated of, cannot be 
forced or constrained by any fear; but it can be constrained by 
love and by the fear of losing it. The fear of God in a genuine 
sense is no other than this. To be constrained by love and by 
the fear of losing it, is to be constrained by onesself; and it will 
be afterwards seen, that to force onesself is not against liberty 
and rationality. 

137. From this it may appear, what is constrained worship, 
and what is unconstrained. Constrained worship is corporeal, 
inanimate, obscure, and gloomy: corporeal, because it is of 
the body and not of the mind; inanimate, because there is no 
life in it; obscure, because there is no understanding in it; 
and gloomy, because there is no delight of heaven in it. But 
unconstrained worship, when it is genuine, is spiritual, living, 
lucid, and joyful: spiritual, because there is spirit from the Lord 
in it; living, because there is life from the Lord in it; lucid, 
because there is wisdom from the Lord in it; and joyful, because 
there is heaven from the Lord in it. 

188. IV. Zhat no one is reformed im states which are not 
of rationality and liberty. It was shown above, that nothing is 
appropriated to man but what he does from liberty according to 
reason; the cause of which is, that liberty is of the will, and 
reason of the understanding; and when a man acts from liberty 
according to reason, then he acts from his will through his un- 
derstanding, and that which is done in conjunction of both is 
appropriated. Now since the Lord wills that a man should be 
reformed and regenerated, in order that he may enjoy eternal 
lite or the life of heaven, and no one can be reformed and rege- 
nerated. unless good be appropriated to his will, that it may be 
as it were his own, and truth to his understanding,.that it like- 
wise may be as it were his own; and since nothing can be 
appropriated to any one but what is from the liberty of his will 
according to the reason of his understanding, it follows, that no 
one is reformed in states which are not of liberty and rationality. 
There are several states which are not of liberty and rationality ; 
but in general they may be referred to these: States of fear, 
of nusfortune, mental disorder, bodily sickness, ignorance, and 

84 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 138, 189 


blindness of the understanding ; but of each of these states 
something shall be distinctly mentioned. 

139. The reason why no one is reformed in A sTATE OF FEAR, 
is, because fear takes away free-will and reason, or liberty and 
rationality ; for, while love opens the interiors of the mind, fear 
closes them, and when they are closed, a man thinks little, and 
only what offers itself to the mind and senses. Such is the 
effect of all kinds of fear which assail the mind. It was shown 
before, that a man has both an internal and an external of 
thought. ear can never invade the internal of thought, this 
being always in freedom because it is in its life’s love; but it 
can invade the external of thought, and when it does this, the 
internal is closed, in which case the man can no longer act from 
liberty according to his reason, and therefore cannot be reform- 
ed. ‘The fear which invades the external of thought and closes 
the internal is chiefly the fear of the loss of honour or of gain ; 
but the fear of civil punishments, and of external ecclesiastical 
punishments, does not close it, because these laws only prescribe 
punishments for those who speak and act against the civil insti- 
tutions of a kingdom and the spiritual ones of the church, and 
not for those who think against them. The fear of infernal 
punishment indeed invades the external of thought, but only 
for some moments, hours, or days, and afterwards it is restored 
to liberty by the internal of thought, which is properly of a man’s 
spirit and life’s love, and is called the thought of the heart. 
But fear for the loss of honour and gain invades the external of 
a man’s thought, and, when it invades it, closes the internal of 
thought above against the influx from heaven, and renders a 
man’s reformation impracticable. The reason is, because the 
lite’s love of every man is by birth the love of self and of the 
world ; and the love of self makes one with the love of honour, 
and the love of the world makes one with the love of gain; there- 
fore when a man is in possession of honour or of gain, he, out of 
fear for the loss of them, confirms in himself means which are 
subservient to them, and which are as well of a civil as an ec- 
clesiastical nature, both respecting government. He also that 
is not yet in possession of honour or gain, if he aspires to them, 
acts in like manner, but out of fear for the loss of reputation, 
which is valued for the sake of them. It is said that this fear 
invades the external of thought, and closes the internal above 
against influx from heaven ; and the latter is said to be closed 
when it acts entirely as one with the external; for then it is not 
in itself, but in the external. Since, however, the loves of self 
and of the world are infernal loves, and the sources of all evils, 
of what nature the internal of thought is, in itself, with those 
in whom these loves reign or are the life’s loves, appears evident; 
namely, that it is full of the concupiscences of evils of all kinds. 
This is unknown to those who, from the fear of the loss of dignity 

85 


139—142 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and wealth, are in a powerful persuasion concerning the religion 
in which they are principled, especially a religion which involves 
the idea that they shall be worshiped as deities, and at the same 
time as Plutos in hell. These can burn as it were with zeal for 
the salvation of souls, and this nevertheless from infernal fire. 
As this fear especially takes away rationality itself and liberty 
itself, which are of celestial origin, it is evident that it 1s an ob- 
stacle to a man’s being reformed. 

140. The reason why no one is reformed in A STATE OF MIS- 
FORTUNE, if he then only thinks of God and implores assistance, 
is, because it is a state of constraint ; and therefore when he 
comes into a state of liberty, he returns into the former state in 
which he had thought little if any thing about God. Not so 
those who had feared God before, while in a state of liberty. 
By the fear of God is meant a fear to offend him, and to offend 
him is to sin; and this is not really of fear but of love. Who that 
loves any one, does not fear to do him harm, and fear it the 
more in proportion as he loves him? Without this fear, love 
is lifeless and superficial, appertaining to the thought only, 
and not to the will. By states of misfortune are meant states 
of desperation from dangers, as in battles, duels, shipwrecks, 
falls, fires, imminent or unexpected loss of wealth, also loss of 
office, and thence of honour, and other similar cases. ‘To think 
of God, in these only, is not from God but from self; for then 
the mind is as it were imprisoned in the body, therefore not in 
liberty, and thence not in rationality either, without which 
there cannot be reformation. 

141. The reason why no one is reformed in A sTATE OF 
MENTAL DISORDER, is, because disease of the mind takes away 
rationality, and thereby the liberty of acting according to reason ; 
for a disordered mind is not sound, and it is the sound mind 
which is rational, and not the diseased mind. Such disorders 
of the mind are melancholy, spurious and false consciences, 
phantasies of various kinds, grief of mind from misfortunes, 
anxieties and anguish of mind arising from disease of the body, 
which are sometimes erroneously considered as temptations. 
Genuine temptations have for their object spiritual things, in 
which the mind is wise; but the former have for their object 
natural things, in which the mind is insane. 

142. The reason why no one is reformed in A STATE OF 
BODILY SICKNESS, is, because reason then is not in a free state; 
for the state of the mind depends upon that of the body. When 
the body is sick, the mind also is sick, if from no other cause 
than its being removed from the world; for a mind removed 
from the world thinks indeed of God, but not from God, for 
it is not in the liberty of reason. A man has liberty of reason 
from this circumstance, that he is in the midst between heaven 
and the world, and can think from heaven and from the world, 

86 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 140 ee 


also from heaven concerning the world, and from the world 
concerning heaven. When therefore a man is in sickness, and 
thinks of death, and of the state of his soul after death, he is 
not then in the world, but is abstracted in spirit, in which 
state alone no one can be reformed; but he may be confirmed 
by this, if he was reformed before he was visited with sickness. 
It is the same with those who renounce the world and all busi- 
ness in it, and give themselves up solely to thoughts concerning 
God, heaven, and salvation: but on this subject more elsewhere. 
Therefore, such persons, if they are not reformed before the 
sickness, become after it, if they die, such as they were before 
it: hence it is vain to think a person can repent, or receive any 
faith under sickness; for there is nothing of action in such re- 
pentance, and nothing of charity in such faith; therefore in 
oth, all is of the mouth and nothing of the heart. 

143. The reason why no one is reformed in A grate oF 
IGNORANCE, is, because all reformation is effected by truths 
and a life according to them; therefore, those who do not know 
truths cannot be reformed; but if they desire truths from the 
affection thereof, they are reformed in the spiritual world after 
death. 

144. Nor can persons be reformed in A sraTE oF BLIND- 
NESS OF THE UNDERSTANDING. ‘They also are ignorant of 
truths, and consequently of life; for the understanding must 
teach them, and the will do them; and when the will does 
what the understanding teaches, it has life according to truths ; 
but when the understanding is blinded, the will also is closed, 
and does not from liberty according to reason any thing but the 
evil confirmed in the understanding, which is falsity. Religion 
also, as well as ignorance, blinds the understanding, when it 
teaches a blind faith; and so does false doctrine: for as truths 
open the understanding, so falsities close it ; they close it above, 
but open it below, and the understanding, open only below, 
cannot see truths, but_merely confirms whatever it wills, espe- 
cially what is false. The understanding is also blinded by the 
lusts of evil. So long as the will is in such lusts, it forces the 
understanding to confirm them; and go far as the lusts of evil 
are confirmed, the will cannot be in affections of good, and from 
them see truths, and so be reformed. For example: when 
a man is in the lust of adultery, his will, which is in the delight 
of his love, forces his understanding to confirm it, by saying. 
What is adultery? Is there any harm in it? Is there not 
the same harm in the connection between husband and wife? 
Cannot children equally be born from adultery? Cannot a 
woman admit several without any harm? What has any 
spiritual consideration to do in this case? Thus does the un- 
derstanding, which is then the harlot of the will, think; and 
so stupid is it made by its whoredom with the will, that it can- 

87 


144, 145 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


not see that conjugial love is spiritual celestial love itself, which 
is an image of the love of the Lord and of the church, from which 
also it is derived, and thus that in itself it is holy, being essen- 
tial chastity, purity, and innocence; that it makes men loves 
in form, for married pairs can love each other mutually from 
their inmost souls, and so form themselves into loves ;»and that 
adultery destroys this form, and with it the image of the Lord ; 
and, what is horrible, that the adulterer mixes his life with the 
life of the husband in his wife, for a man’s life is in the seed. 
As this is profane, therefore hell is called adultery, and on the 
contrary heaven is called marriage: the love of adultery also 
communicates with the lowest hell, but love truly conjugial with 
the inmost heaven; and the members of generation of both 
sexes also correspond to societies of the inmost heaven. These 
particulars are adduced, that it may be known how much the 
understanding is blinded when the will is in the lust of evil; 
and that in a state of blindness of the understanding no one 
can be reformed. 

145. V. That tt ts not contrary to rationality and liberty 
tor aman to force himself. It was shown before, that a man has 
an internal and an external of thought; that they are distinct 
as prior and posterior, or as superior and inferior ; and that, as 
they are so distinct, they can act separately, and can act in 
conjunction. They act separately, when a man speaks and acts 
from the external of his thought otherwise than he interiorly 
thinks and wills; and they act in conjunction, when he speaks 
and does what he interiorly thinks and wills. The latter case 
is common with the sincere, but the former with the insincere. 
Now, since the internal and the external of the mind are so 
distinct, the internal can also combat with the external, and by 
that compel it to consent. Oombat takes place when a man 
thinks evils to be sins, and therefore wills to desist from them ; for 
when he desists, the door is opened, upon which the concu- 
piscences of evil which besieged the internal of thought are cast 
out by the Lord, and in their place are implanted affections of 
good, and this in the internal of thought. But as the delights 
of the concupiscences of evil, which besiege the external of 
thought, cannot be cast out at the same time, therefore a com- 
bat takes place between the internal and the external of thought; 
the internal desiring to cast out those delights, because they are 
delights of evil, and do not accord with the affections of good, 
which the internal is now in, and instead of the delights of 
evil to introduce delights of good, which do accord. The de- 
lights of good are what are called goods of charity. From 
this contrariety arises a combat, which, if it becomes grievous, 
is called temptation. Now since a man is a man by virtue of 
the internal of his thought, this being the man’s spirit itself, it 
is evident that a man forces himself, when he forces the external 

88 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 145—147 


of his thought to consent to or to receive the delights of his 
affections, which are goods of charity. That this is not contrary 
to rationality and liberty, however, but conformable to them, is 
evident; for rationality causes the combat, and liberty executes 
it. Liberty itself also, with rationality, resides in the internal 
man, and from the internal in the external. When, therefore, 
the internal conquers, which is the case when it has reduced 
the external to consent and obedience, then liberty itself and 
rationality itself are given to the man by the Lord; for then he 
is delivered by the Lord from infernal liberty, which in itself is 
slavery, and placed in celestial liberty, which in itself is real 
liberty, and he is privileged to associate with angels. That 
those are slaves who are in sins, and that the Lord makes those 
free who receive truth from him through the Word, he himself 
teaches in John viii. 81—36. 

146. Let us take an example by way of illustration: suppose 
a man, who has perceived delight in frauds and clandestine 
thefts, to see and acknowledge that they are sins, and therefore 
to will to desist from them; when he desists, there arises a 
combat of the internal man with the external. The internal 
man is in the affection of sincerity, but the external as yet in 
the delight of defrauding ; which delight, because it is altogether 
opposite to the delight of sincerity, does not recede, unless it is 
compelled, nor can it be compelled without a combat; and 
when he overcomes, the external man comes into the delight of 
the love of sincerity, which is charity ; afterwards successively 
the delight of defrauding becomes undelightful to him. It is 
similar with other sins, as with adultery and fornication, revenge 
and hatred, blasphemy and lying. But the most difficult com- 
bat of all is that with the love of dominion from the love of self : 
he who subdues this, easily subdues other evil loves, because it 
is their head. 

147. It shall also be briefly shown, in what manner the 
Lord casts out the concupiscences of evil which besiege the inter- 
nal man from his birth, and plants affections of good in lieu of 
them, when a man as from himself removes evils as‘sins. It 
was shown above, that a man has a natural mind, a spiritual 
mind, and a celestial mind; that he is in the natural mind only 
so long as he is in the concupiscences of evil and their delights, 
and that so long the spiritual mind is shut; but as soon as, 
after self-examination, he acknowledges evils as sins against God 
because they are contrary to the divine laws, and therefore wills 
to desist from them, then the Lord opens the spiritual mind, 
and enters into the natural by the affections of truth and good ; 
he also enters into the rational, and from it disposes into order 
the things which are below contrary to order, in the natural. 
It is this which appears to a man as a combat, and in those who 
have indulged much in the delights of evil, as temptation; for 

89 


147—150 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


it gives pain to the mind when the order of its thoughts is 
inverted. Now as the combat is against the things which are 
in the man himself, and which he feels as his own, and no one 
can fight against himself except from what is interior in himself, 
and from liberty there, it follows that the internal man then 
fights against the external, also that he does it from liberty, 
and that he forces the external to obedience; this, therefore, is 
to force himself. It is evident that this is not contrary to liberty 
and rationality, but according to them. 

148. Moreover, every man wills to be free, and not to re- 
move liberty but slavery from himself. Every boy, who is under 
a master, wills to be his own master, and so to be free. It is 
the same with every man-servant under his master, and every 
maid-servant under her mistress. Every virgin also wills to 
depart out of her father’s house and marry, that she may act 
freely in her own house; and every youth who wills to work, or 
traffic, or exercise some office, while he is in servitude under 
others, wills to be emancipated, that he may be his own master. 
All those who serve of their own accord for the sake of liberty, 
force themselves : and in forcing themselves they act from liberty 
according to reason, but from interior liberty, from which ex- 
terior liberty is regarded as a servant. These considerations 
are adduced, in order to confirm the position, that for a man to 
force himself is not contrary to rationality and liberty. 

149. One reason why a man does not in like manner desire 
to come out of spiritual servitude into spiritual liberty, is, that 
he does not know what spiritual servitude and spiritual liberty 
are. He has not the truths which teach it, and without them 
spiritual servitude is believed to be liberty, and spiritual liberty 
to be servitude. Another reason is, because the religion of the 
Christian world has closed the understanding, and the doctrine 
of faith alone has sealed it; for they have both placed about 
themselves, like an iron wall, this tenet, that theological things 
are transcendent, therefore are not to be approached from any 
rationality, and that they are for the blind and not for those who 
see. Dy this the truths have been hid which would teach what 
spiritual liberty is. A third reason is, because few examine 
themselves, and see their sins; and he who does not see them, 
and desist from them, is in the liberty of them, which is in- 
fernal liberty,—in itself servitude: and from this, to see celestial 
liberty, which is liberty itself, is like seeing light in darkness, 
and seeing under a black cloud that which is above it from the 
sun. Hence it is, that it is not known what celestial liberty is, 
and that the difference between this and infernal liberty is like 
the difference between what is alive and what is dead. 

150. VI. Yhat the external man is to be reformed by the 
emternal, and not contrariwise. By the internal and the external 
man is meant the same as by the internal and the external of 

90 | 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 150, 151 


thought, which have often been treated of before. The reason 
why the external is reformed by the internal, is, because the in- 
ternal flows into the external, and not wce versa. That there 
is a spiritual influx into natural, and not the contrary, is known 
in the learned world; and that the internal man is first to be 
purified and renewed, and thereby the external, is known in the 
church. The reason why it is known, is, because the Lord and 
reason declare it; the Lord teaches it in these words: “ Wo 
unto you, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup 
and the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess : 
thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and the 
platter, that the outside of them may be clean also” (Matt. 
xxili. 25, 26). That reason declares it, is shown abundantly in 
the treatise on Tue Divine Love anp tue Drvine Wispom: for 
what the Lord teaches, he also enables a man to perceive by 
reason, and this in two ways; one of which is, that he sees in 
himself that a thing is so and so, as soon as he hears it; and 
the other, that he understands it by reasons. To see in himself 
is in his internal man, and to understand by reasons is in his 
external man. Who, when he hears it declared, does not see 
in himself that the internal man is first to be purified, and by 
that the external? But he who does not receive a general idea 
of this by influx from heaven, may be led into a mistake when 
he consults the external of his-thought; for from this alone no 
one sees otherwise than that external works, which are of char- 
ity and piety, are saving without internal principles. It is the 
same in other things; as that sight and hearing flow into 
thought, and smell and taste into perception, and thus that what 
is external flows into what is internal ; when, nevertheless, it is 
quite the contrary. That things seen and heard appear to flow 
into the thought is a fallacy ; for the understanding sees in the 
eye and hears in the ear, and not contrariwise. So it is in other 
cases. 

151. But here it may be expedient to observe briefly in 
what manner the internal man is reformed, and thereby the 
external. ‘The internal man is not reformed by knowing, under- 
standing, and being wise, alone; or, consequently, by thinking 
alone; but by willing that which knowledge, intelligence, and 
wisdom teach. When a man knows, understands, and has 
wisdom to see, that there are a heaven and a hell, and that all 
evil is from hell, and all good from heaven; if then he does not 
will evil because it is from hell, but wills good because it is 
from heaven, he is in the first step of reformation, and in the 
entrance out of hell into heaven. When he advances further, 
and wills to desist from evils, he is in the second step of refor- 
mation, and is then out of hell, but not yet in heaven, which 
he sees above him. There must be this internal, in order that 

91 


151, 152 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


a man may be reformed; but unless the external, as well as the 
internal, be reformed, the man is not reformed. The external 
is reformed by the internal, when the former desists from the 
evils which the latter does not will because they are infernal, 
and more so when he therefore shuns them and fights against 
them. Thus, the internal is to will, and the external is to do; 
for unless a person does that which he wills, there is within a 
principle which wills it not, and at length he comes not to will it. 
From these few considerations it may be seen, how the external 
man is reformed by the internal. This also is what is meant by 
the Lord’s words to Peter: “ Jesus said, If I wash thee not, thou 
hast no part with me. Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my 
feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, 
He that is washed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is 
clean every whit” (John xiii. 8, 9,10). By washing is here 
meant spiritual washing, which is purification from evils: by 
washing the head and the hands is meant to purify the internal 
man, and by washing the feet is meant to purify the external. 
That when the internal man is purified, the external is to be 
purified is meant by these words: ‘‘ He that is washed, needeth 
not save to wash his feet.” That all purification from evils is 
from the Lord, is meant by these words: ‘‘If I wash thee not, 
thou hast no part with me.” That washing among the Jews 
represented purification from evils; that this is signified by 
washing in the Word; and that by washing the feet is signified 
the purification of the natural or external man, is abundantly 
shown in the Arcana Ca@LestiA. 

152. Since every man has an internal and an external, and 
both are to be reformed in order that the man may be reformed ; 
and since no one can be reformed except he examine himself, 
see, and acknowledge his evils, and afterwards desist from them, 
it follows, that not only is the external to be explored, but also 
the internal. Ifthe external only is explored the man does not 
see any thing but what he has or has not actually committed ; 
as, that he has not committed murder, adultery, or theft, or 
borne false witness, &c. Thus he explores the evils of his 
body, and not those of his spirit; and yet the latter are to be ex- 
plored in order that any one may be reformed; for a man lives a 
spirit after death, and all the evils which are in him remain; 
and the spirit is no otherwise explored than by the man’s at- 
tending to his thoughts, especially to his intentions, for these are 
thoughts from the will. In the will, evils are in their origin and 
root, that is, in their concupiscences and delights; and unless 
they are seen and acknowledged, the man is still in evils, although 
he may not have externally committed them. That to think from 
intention, is to will and to do, is evident from these words ot 
the Lord: Whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, 

92 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 152—154 


hath committed adultery with her already in his heart?’ (Matt. 
v. 28). Such is the search of the internal man, by which the 
external man is essentially explored. 

153. I have often wondered, that although the whole Chris- 
tian world is informed that evils are to be shunned as sins, 
otherwise they are not remitted, and that if not remitted, there 
is no salvation, yet nevertheless scarce one in a thousand knows 
it. This was inquired into in the spiritual world, and it was 
found to be so; for every one in the Christian world is informed 
of it from the prayers read before those who receive the holy 
supper, it being plainly declared therein; and yet when they 
are asked whether they know this, they answer that they do 
not, and did not know it; the reason of which is, that they did 
not think about it, and most of them only thought of faith, and 
of salvation by it alone. I have also wondered, that faith alone 
so shuts the eyes, that those who have confirmed themselves in 
it, when they read the Word, see nothing of what is there said 
concerning love, charity, and works. It is as though they had 
smeared over all things in the Word with faith, as he who 
smears over a writing with paint, by which nothing which is 
underneath appears ; or if any thing appears, it is absorbed by 
faith, and said to be faith. 


THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE, THAT A MAN 
SHOULD BE LED AND TAUGHT FROM THE LORD OUT OF 
HEAVEN BY THE WORD, AND BY DOCTRINE AND PREACHING 
FROM THE WORD, AND THIS IN ALL APPEARANCE AS FROM 
HIMSELF. 


154. In appearance a man is led and taught from himself, 
but in truth he is led and taught from the Lord only. Those 
who confirm in themselves the appearance, and not at the same 
time the truth, are not able to remove from themselves evils 
as sins; but those who confirm in themselves the appearance, 
and at the same time the truth, are able; for evils as sins are 
removed in appearance by man, and in truth by the Lord. 
The latter persons can be reformed, but the former cannot. 
Those who confirm in themselves the appearance, and not at 
the same time the truth, are all interior idolators ; for they are 
worshipers of self and the world. If they have no religion, 
they become worshipers of nature, and thus Atheists; but if 
they have any religion, they become worshipers of men, and 
at the same time of images ; and these are they who are meant 
in the first commandment of the decalogue, who worship other 
gods. But those who confirm in themselves the appearance, 

93 


154—157 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and at the same time the truth, become worshipers of the Lord ; 
for the Lord elevates them from their proprium (or own proper 
life), which is principled in appearance, and leads them into 
light, in which is the truth, and which is the truth, and gives 
them to perceive interiorly, that they are not led and taught of 
themselves, but of the Lord. The rational faculty of both these 
descriptions of persons may appear to many as similar, but it is 
dissimilar: the rational faculty of those who are principled in 
appearance, and at the same time in the truth, is a spiritual 
rational; but the rational faculty of those who are principled in 
appearance, and not at the same time in the truth, is a natural 
rational. The latter rational faculty may be compared to a gar- 
den as it is in the light of winter; while the spiritual rational 
faculty may be compared to a garden as it is in the light of 
spring. But on this subject more will be stated, in the following 
order. JI. That a man is led and taught of the Lord alone. 
IJ. That a man is led and taught of the Lord alone by the an- 
gelic heaven and from it. II. That a man is led of the Lord 
by influx, and taught by illumination. IV. That a man is 
taught of the Lord by the Word, and by doctrine and preaching 
from the Word, thus immediately by him alone. V. That a 
man is led and taught of the Lord in externals, to all appearance 
as of himself. 

155. I. That a man ts led and taught of the Lord alone. 
This flows, as a universal consequence, from all that was shown. 
in the treatise concerning Tue Divins Love anp tHE Divine 
Wispom; as well from what is there demonstrated concerning 
the divine love of the Lord and his divine wisdom, in part the 
first; as from what is said concerning the sun of the spiritual 
world, and the sun of the natural world, in part the second ; and 
also concerning degrees, in part the third; concerning the crea- 
tion of the universe, in part the fourth; and concerning the cre- 
ation of man, in part the fifth. 

156. The reason why a man is led and taught of the Lord 
alone, is, because he lives from the Lord alone; for the will 
of his life is led, and the understanding of his life is taught. 
This, however, is contrary to appearance; for it appears to a 
man as if he lived from himself, and yet the truth is, that he 
lives from the Lord, and not from himself. Now, since there 
cannot be given to a man, so long as he is in the world, a sen- 
sible perception that he lives from the Lord only, because the 
appearance that he lives from himself is not taken away from 
him (for without it a man is not a man), therefore this must be 
evinced by reasons, which are afterwards to be confirmed by ex- 
perience, and lastly by the Word. 

157. That a man lives from the Lord alone, and not from 
himself, may be evinced by these reasons: that there is one 
only essence, one only substance, and one only form, from 

94 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 157 


which are all the essences, substances, and forms that are 
created; that the one only essence, substance, and form, is the 
divine love and the divine wisdom, from which are all things 
that have relation to love and wisdom in a man; that moreover 
it is good itself and truth itself, to which all things have relation ; 
and that these are life, from which are the life of all things and 
all things of life: also, that the self-subsisting and sole-subsisting 
principle is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent; and that 
this self-subsisting and sole-subsisting principle is the Lord from 
eternity, or Jehovah. First, That there is one only essence, one 
only substance, and one only form, from which are all the essences, 
substances, and forms that are created. It was shown in the 
treatise on Tue Divine Love anp tue Divine Wispow, n. 
44-46, and in part the second of the same work, that the sun 
of the angelic heaven, which is from the Lord, and in which is 
the Lord, is that sole or only substance and form, from which 
all things are created; and that nothing does exist, or can exist, 
which is not from it. That all things are from it by derivations, 
according to degrees, is shown there in part the third. Who 
does not perceive and acknowledge from reason, that there is 
one sole Essence, from which is all essence, or one sole Lsse, 
from which is all esse? What can exist without an “se, and 
what is that “sse from which is all esse, but Lsse itself, and that 
which is “sse itself, is also the sole Asse, and in itself Zsse. 
This being the case, and every one perceiving and acknowledg- 
ing this from reason, or at least being capable of perceiving and 
acknowledging it, what else then follows but that this se, 
which is the Divine itself, which is Jehovah, is all in all things 
which are and exist? It is the same thing if it be said, that 
there is one sole substance, from which are all things; and since 
a substance without a form is nothing, it follows also, that there 
is one sole form, from which are all things. That the sun of 
the angelic heaven is that sole substance, and form; and how 
that essence, substance, and form, is varied in things created, 
is demonstrated in the above-mentioned treatise. Srconpiy, 
That the one only essence, substance, and form, ts the divine love 
and the dwine wisdom ; from which are all things that have rela- 
tion to love and wisdom in man, is also fully shown in the trea- 
tise on Tue Divine Love anp tue Divinr Wispom. Whatever 
things in a man appear to live, have relation to the will and the 
understanding in him; and that these two principles constitute 
his life, every one from reason perceives and acknowledges. 
Why else is it so constantly said, I will this or I understand 
this, or I love this or I think this? And since a man wills 
what he loves, and thinks what he understands, therefore all 
things of the will have relation to love, and all things of the 
understanding to wisdom: and as these two principles cannot 
exist in any one from himself, but from him who is love itself 
95 


157 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and wisdom itself, it follows that it is from the Lord from 
eternity or Jehovah. If this were not the origin of those prin- 
ciples, a man would be love itself and wisdom itself, therefore 
God from eternity, at which human reason itself is struck with 
horror. Can any thing exist but from what is prior to itself, 
and can this prior exist but from what is still prior to it, and 
thus finally from the first, which 1s in itself? Turrpty: Zhat 
in like manner, tt is good itself and truth itself, to which all 
things have relation. It is received and acknowledged by every 
one who has reason, that God is good itself and truth itself, and 
that every thing good and true is from him; therefore, also, 
that what is good and true cannot come from any other source 
than from good and truth itself. These things are acknowledged 
by every rational man as soon as they are heard. When it is 
next said, that every thing of the will and understanding, or 
every thing of love and wisdom, or every thing of affection and 
thought with the man who is led of the Lord, has relation to good 
and truth, it follows, that all which such a man wills and under- 
stands, or which he loves and is wise in, or by which he is affected 
and which he thinks, is from the Lord. Hence it is, that every 
one in the church knows that every thing good and every thing 
trie from a man, is in itself not good and true, but only that 
which is from the Lord. As this is a truth, it follows, that all 
that which such a man wills and thinks is from the Lord. That 
neither can a wicked man will and think from any other origin, 
will be seen in what follows. Fourruny, Zhat those principles 
are life, from which are the life of all things and all things of 
life, is abundantly shown in the treatise on Tue Divine Love 
AND THE Divine Wispom. Human reason also, at the first hear- 
ing, receives and acknowledges, that all a man’s life is of his 
will and understanding; for if the will and understanding be 
taken away, he does not live;,or, what is the same, that all a 
man’s life is of his love and his thought, for if love and thought 
be taken away, he does not live. Now because every thing of the 
will and understanding, or every thing of love and thought in a 
man is from the Lord, as was said above, it follows, that every 
thing of life is from him. Firrary, Zhat the self-subsisting and 
sole-subsisting principle 7s omnipresent, omniscient, and omni- 
potent. This also every Christian acknowledges from his doc- 
trine, and every Gentile from his religion ; hence also, every one, 
in whatever place he is, thinks that God is where he is, and that 
he should pray to God as present; and since every one so thinks, 
and so prays, it follows, that he cannot think otherwise than 
that God is everywhere, therefore omnipresent; in like manner, 
that he is omniscient and omnipotent; therefore every one 
praying to God implores from his heart, that he would lead him, 
because he is able to do so. Thus every one then acknowledges 
the divine omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence; he 
96 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 157—159 


acknowledges, because he then turns his face to the Lord, from 
whom that truth then flows. Srxruny, That this self-subsisting 
and sole-subsisting principle is the Lord from eternity, or Jehovah. 
In Tue Docrrrine or run New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE Lorp, 
it is shown, that God is one in essence and in person, and that 
that God is the Lord; that the divine itself, which is called 
Jehovah the Father, is the Lord from eternity; that the divine 
human is the Son conceived from his divine trom eternity, and 
born in the world; and that the divine proceeding is the Holy 
Spirit. It is said to be self-subsisting and sole-subsisting, 
because it was stated before, that the Lord from eternity, or 
Jehovah, is life itself, being love itself and wisdom itself, or good 
itself and truth itself, from which are all things. That the Lord 
created all things out of himself, and not out of nothing, may 
be seen in the treatise on Tue Divine Love anp toe Divine 
Wispom, n. 282—284, n. 849—357. By the above considera- 
tions, this truth, that a man is led and taught of the Lord alone, 
is confirmed by reasons. 

158. This same truth is confirmed, not only by reasons, but 
also by living perceptions among the angels, especially the angels 
of the third heaven. These perceive the influx of divine love 
and divine wisdom from the Lord; and because they perceive 
it, and from their wisdom know that these principles are life, 
therefore they say that they live from the Lord, and not from 
themselves; and they not only say this, but also love and desire 
that it may be so. Yet they are still in all appearance as if they 
lived from themselves, in a stronger appearance, indeed, than 
other angels; for as was shown above, n. 42—45, in proportion 
as any one ws more nearly conjoined to the Lord, he appears to 
himself more distinctly as his own, and perceives more evidently 
that he is the Lord’s. It has been granted me also to be in a 
similar perception and appearance now for many years; from 
which I am fully convinced, that I neither will nor think any 
thing from myself, but that it appears as from myself; and it 
is also given me to desire and love this. The same may be 
confirmed by many other considerations from the spiritual world, 
but these two may be suflicient at present. 

159. That the Lord alone is life, is evident from these pas- 
sages in the Word: “I am the resurrection and the life: he 
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” 
(John xi. 25). “Tam the way, the truth, and the life” (John 
xiv. 6). “God was the Word. In him was life; and the life 
was the light of men” (John i. 1, 4). The Word there is the 
Lord. ‘ As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to 
the Son to have life in himself” (John v. 26). That a man is 
led and taught of the Lord only, is evident from these passages: 
“ Without me ye can do nothing” (John xy. 5). “A man ean 
receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (John iii. 

97 


159—162 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING. 


97). “A man cannot make one hair white or black” (Matt. v. 
36); by a hair in the Word is signified the least of all things. 

160. That the life of the wicked is also from the same origin, 
will be demonstrated hereafter in its proper article. It will here 
only be illustrated by comparison. From the sun of the world 
flow both heat and light; and they flow alike into trees which 
bear evil fruit and into those which bear good fruit, and they 
vegetate and grow alike. The forms into which the heat flows, 
cause the difference; it is not the heat itself. It is similar with 
light, which is variegated in colours according to the forms into 
which it flows. There are beautiful and lively colours, and there 
are ugly and dull colours, yet still the light is the same. It is 
similar with the influx of spiritual heat, which in itself is love; 
and of spiritual light, which in itself is wisdom, from the sun 
of the spiritual world. The forms into which they flow, cause 
the difference, but not that heat which is love and that light 
which is wisdom in themselves. The forms into which they flow 
are human minds. From these considerations then it is evident, 
that a man is led and taught of the Lord alone. 

161. But what the life of animals is, was shown above, 
namely, that it is a life of affection merely natural, with its con- 
comitant science; and that it is a mediate life corresponding to 
the life of those which are in the spiritual world. 

162. Il. That @ man is led and taught of the Lord alone, 
by the angelic heaven, and from it. It is said that a man is led 
of the Lord by the angelic heaven, and from it; but that it is 
by the angelic heaven, is according to appearance, whereas, that 
it is from it, is according to the truth. The reason why there 
is an appearance that it is by the angelic heaven, is, because the 
Lord appears above that heaven as the sun; and the reason why 
it is a truth that it is from that heaven, is, because the Lord 
in that heaven is as the soul ina man: for the Lord is omni- 
present, and is not in space, as was shown before; therefore 
distance is an appearance, according to conjunction with him, 
conjunction being according to the reception of love and wisdom 
from him; and since no one can be conjoined to the Lord as he 
is in himself, therefore he appears to the angels at a distance as 
asun: nevertheless he is in the universal angelic heaven like 
the soul in a man, and in like manner in every society of heaven, 
and in every angel there; for a man’s soul is not only the soul 
of the whole, but also of each part of him. Since, however, it 
is from appearance that the Lord rules the universal heaven, and 
by it the world from the sun which is from him, and in which 
he is (concerning which sun see the treatise on Tur Divine 
Love AND THE Divine Wispom, Part I); and since it is 
allowable for any man to speak from appearance, nor can he 
indeed do otherwise, therefore also it is allowable for any. one, 
who is not principled in wisdom itself, to think, that the Lord 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 1O9---] OF 


rules all and every thing from his sun, and also that he rules the 
world by the angelic heaven. From such appearance also the 
angels of the inferior heavens think ; but the angels of the supe- 
rior heavens, although they speak from appearance, think from 
the truth, which is that the Lord rules the universe from the 
angelic heaven, which is from himself. That the simple and 
the wise speak alike, but do not think alike, may be illustrated 
from the sun of the world. Of this sun all men speak from the 
appearance that it rises and sets; but the wise, although they 
speak in like manner, still think that it stands immovable, which 
also is the truth, while the contrary is an appearance. The same 
may also be illustrated from appearances in the spiritual world ; 
for in that world there appear spaces and distances as in the 
natural world, but still they are appearances according to the 
dissimilitude of affections and thoughts thence derived. It is the 
same with the appearance of the Lord in his sun. 

163. But how the Lord leads and teaches every man from 
the angelic heaven must be briefly explained. In the treatise 
on Tae Divine Love anp tae Divine Wispom, and above, in 
this treatise on Tum Divine Provinencr, also in the work on 
Heaven anp Hert, published in London in the year 1758, from 
things seen and heard, it is made known, that the universal 
angelic heaven appears before the Lord as one man, and in like 
manner each society in heaven, and that thence it is, that each 
particular angel and spirit is in a perfect human form. More- 
over, in the above-named treatises it is shown, that heaven is 
not heaven from the propriwm of the angels, but from the recep- 
tion of divine love and divine wisdom from the Lord by the angels. 
Hence it may appear, that the Lord rules the universal angelic 
heaven as one man; that that heaven, because it is a man, is 
the very image and likeness of the Lord; that the Lord himself 
rules that heaven, as the soul rules its body; and, because the 
universal human race is ruled by the Lord, that it is not ruled 
by heaven, but from heaven by the Lord, consequently from him- 
self, because, as was said, he himself is heaven. 

164. But as this is an arcanum of angelic wisdom, it can 
only be comprehended by the man whose spiritual mind is opened, 
such a man, by virtue of conjunction with the Lord, being an 
angel; and by such a one, from what has been premised, the 
following particulars may be comprehended: 1. That all, men as 
well as angels, are in the Lord, and the Lord in them, according 
to conjunction with him, or, what is the same, according to 
their reception of love and wisdom from him. 2, That every 
one of these has his place appointed in the Lord, therefore in 
heaven, according to the quality of his conjunction with or re- 
ception of him. 3. That every one in his place has his state 
distinct from the state of others; and that from the common 
body a derives his task according to his situation, his function, 

9s H 


164—166 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and his necessity, just in the same manner as does any par- 
ticular part in the human body. 4. That every man is initiated 
into his place by the Lord according to his life. 5. That every 
man from infancy is introduced into that Divine Man, whose 
soul and life is the Lord, and that he is led and taught from his 
divine love according to his divine wisdom, in him and not out 
of him; but because liberty is not taken away from any man, 
that he cannot otherwise be led and taught than according to 
reception as if from himself. 6. That those who receive are 
conducted to their places, through infinite windings and mean- 
derings, as it were, nearly in the same manner as the chyle is 
conveyed through the mesentery and lacteal vessels into its re- 
ceptacle, and thence through the thoracic duct into the blood, 
and so into its proper place. 7. That those who do not receive, 
are separated from those who are within the Divine Man, as ex- 
crement and urine are secreted and separated bya man. ‘These 
are arcana of angelic wisdom, which aman may in some measure 
comprehend ; but there are many which he cannot. 

165. IIL. That a man is led of the Lord by influx, and 
taught by illumination. The reason why a man is led of the Lord 
by influx, is, because to be led and also to flow-in are predicated 
of love and of the will; and the reason why he is taught of the 
Lord by illumination, is, because to be taught and to be illumi- 
nated are properly predicated of wisdom and of the understanding. 
It is well known that every man from his own love is led of him- 
self, and according to it by others, and not by the understanding. 
He is led by the understanding and according to it, only when 
the love or the will makes the understanding: and when this is 
the case, it may also be said of the understanding, that it is led; 
but yet the understanding is not then led, but the will from 
which it is derived. It is called influx, because it is customary 
to say, that the soul flows into the body, that influx is spiritual 
and not physical, and that a man’s soul or life is his love or will, 
as was shown before; also, because influx is comparatively like 
the influx of the blood into the heart, and from the heart into 
the lungs. That there is a correspondence of the heart with 
the will, and of the lungs with the understanding, and that the. 
-eonjunetion of the will with the understanding is like the influx 
of the blood out of the heart into the lungs, is shown in the treatise 
on Tue Divine Love anp tHe Divine Wispom, n. 38/1—482. 

166. But the reason why a man is taught by illumination, is, 
because to be taught and also to be illuminated are predicated 
of the understanding ; for the understanding, which is a man’s 
internal sight, is no otherwise illuminated by spiritual light than 
asaman’s eye or external sight is by natural light. In like 
manner also both are taught; but the internal sight, which is 
of the understanding, by spiritual objects, and the external sight, 
which is of the eye, by natural objects. There are spiritual 

100 - 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 166, 167 


light and natural light, both alike as to external appearance, but 
unlike as to internal; for natural light is from the sun of the 
natural world, and thence in itself void of life; but spiritual 
light is from the sun of the spiritual world, and thence in itself 
living; it is this which illuminates the human understanding, 
and not natural light. Natural and rational illumination is not 
from the latter light, but from the former. It is called natural 
and rational illumination, because it is spiritual-natural; for 
there are three degrees of light in the spiritual world,—celestial 
light, spiritual light, and spiritual-natural light. Celestial light 
is a ruddy flaming light, and is with those who are in the third 
heaven ; spiritual light is a white shining light, and is with those 
who are in the middle heaven; and spiritualnatural light is 
such as is the light of day in our world, and is with those who 
are in the last or lowest heaven, as well as with those who are 
in the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and 
hell; but this light, in the latter world, is with the good like 
the light of summer, and with the wicked like the light of winter 
upon earth. It is to be observed, however, that all the light of 
the spiritual world has nothing in common with the light of the 
natural world; they being as different as life and death. From 
these considerations it is evident, that natural light, such as we 
have before our eyes, does not illuminate the understanding, 
but spiritual light. Men are ignorant of this, because heretofore 
they knew nothing of spiritual light. That spiritual light is in 
its origin divine wisdom, or divine truth, is shown in the work 
on Heaven anp Hert, n. 126—140. 

167. As the light of heaven has now been spoken of, it 
may be expedient to say something also of the light of hell. 
This is also of three degrees: the light in the lowest hell being 
like the light of burning coals; the light in the middle hell like 
that from the flame of a wood fire; and the light in the highest 
hell like the light of candles, and to some like the light of the 
moon by night. These lights, however, are not natural, but 
spiritual; for all natural light is dead, and extinguishes the 
understanding. ‘Those who are in hell have the faculty of un- 
derstanding, which is called rationality, as was shown before, 
and rationality itselfis from spiritual light, and not in the least 
from natural light; but the spiritual light which they have from 
rationality is turned into infernal light, as the light of day into 
the darkness of night. Yet all who are in the spiritual world, 
as well those who are in the heavens as those who are in the 
hells, see in their own light as clearly as man does in his by day : 
the reason of which is, that the eye of every one is formed for 
the reception of the light in which he is; consequently, the eyes 
of the angels of heaven for the reception of the light in which 
they are, and the eyes of the spirits of hell for the reception of 
their light. With the latter it is comparatively as with owls and 

101 


167, 168 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


bats, which see objects as clearly in the night as other birds see 
them in the day; for their eyes are formed for the reception of 
their own light. But the difference between these kinds of light 
appears clearly to those who look out of one light into another : 
as when an angel of heaven looks into hell, he sees nothing 
there but mere darkness; and when a spirit of hell looks into 
heaven, he sees nothing there but darkness; the reason of which 
is, that celestial wisdom is as darkness to those who are in hell, 
and, on the other hand, infernal insanity is as darkness to those 
who are in heaven. Hence it may appear, that such as a man’s 
understanding is, such is his light; and that every one comes 
into his own light after death, for he does not see in any other : 
and in the spiritual world, where all are spiritual even as to 
their bodies, the eyes of all are formed to see from their own 
light; the life’s love of every one making to itself an under- 
standing, and so also a light; for love is as the fire of life, from 
which is the light of life. 

168. As few know any thing of the illumination, in which 
exists the understanding of the man who is taught of the Lord, 
therefore something must be said concerning it. There is in- 
terior and exterior illumination from the Lord, and there is also 
interior and exterior illumination from man. Interior illumi- 
nation from the Lord is that by which a man at first hearing 
perceives whether what is said be true or not true; and exterior 
illumination is derived thence in the thought. Interior illumi- 
nation from man is from confirmation alone; and exterior 
illumination from man is from science alone. But to speak of 
each more particularly: A rational man by interior illumination 
from the Lord immediately perceives, on hearing them, whether 
things are true or not; as for example, that love is the life of 
faith, or that faith lives from love. A man from interior illumi- 
nation also perceives this, that whatever a man loves he wills, 
and what he wills he does, consequently, that to love is to do: 
he also perceives this, that whatever a man believes from love, 
he likewise wills and does, consequently, that to have faith is 
also to do; and likewise, that an impious man cannot have the 
love of God, or therefore the faith of God. A rational man also, 
from interior illumination, immediately perceives the following 
truths, when he hears them: viz. That God is one; that he is 
omnipresent; that every good is from him: also, that all things 
have relation to good and truth; and that every thing good is 
from Good itself, and every thing true from Truth itself. These, 
and other similar truths, a man perceives interiorly in himself 
when he hears them: the reason of which is, that he has ra- 
tionality, and this is in the light of heaven, which illuminates. 
Exterior illumination is that of the thought derived from interior 
illumination, and the thought is in this illumination in propor- 
tion as it remains in the perception which it has from interior 

102 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 168—170 


illumination, and at the same time possesses knowledges of things 
true and good, for from these it supplies itself with reasons for 
confirmation. The thought, by virtue of this exterior illumi- 
nation, sees a thing on both sides,—on one side seeing the 
reasons which confirm it, and on the other the appearances which 
invalidate it: the latter it dispels, and the former it collects. 
But tnterior illumination from man is totally different: a man, 
by virtue of this illumination, sees a thing on one side, and 
not on the other; and when he has confirmed it, he sees it ina 
light similar in appearance to the light treated of above, but 
it is the light of winter. For example: a judge, who, in con- 
sequence of bribes and for the sake of interest, judges unjustly, 
atter he has confirmed his j udgment by the laws and by reasons, 
does not see any thing but justice in his judgment. ‘Some see 
injustice; but, because they do not desire to see it, darken and 
blind themselves, and so do not see it. It is the same with a 
judge who passes judgment under the influence of friendship, 
from the desire of conciliating favour, and from the influence of 
connections. With persons of such a character, the same thing 
happens in respect to whatever they receive from the mouth of 
aman of authority, or from a man of reputation or fame, or in 
respect to whatever they have hatched out of their own self. 
derived intelligence. They are blind reasoners ; for their sight 
is grounded in false principles, which they confirm ; and falsity 
closes up the sight, and truth opens it. Such persons do not 
see any thing true from the light of truth, nor any thing just 
from the love of justice, but from the light of confirmation, 
which is infatuating light. They appear, in the spiritual world, 
like faces without a head, or like faces similar to human faces, 
behind which there are heads of wood; and they are called 
rational beasts, because they have rationality in their power. 
Exterior illumination from man, however, has place with those 
who think and speak from science alone impressed upon the 
memory; and these of themselves are but little able to confirm 
any thing. ! 

169. Such are the different kinds of illumination, and thence 
of perception and thought. There is an actual illumination 
from spiritual light, although the illumination itself from that 
light does not appear to any one in the natural world, because 
natural light has nothing in common with spiritual light : but 
such illumination has sometimes appeared to me in the spiritual 
world, being seen among those who were in illumination from 
the Lord, as something luminous about the head, and ruddy, 
similar to the colour of the human face. With those who were 
in illumination from themselves, there was such a luminous 
appearance, not about the head, but about the mouth and 
above the chin. 


170. Besides these illuminations there is also another, by 
103 


T0172. ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


which it is revealed to a man in what faith, and in what 1n- 
telligence and wisdom he is, which revelation is such that he 
himself perceives it in himself. He is admitted into a society 
where there is genuine faith, and where there are true intel- 
ligence and wisdom, and there the interior of his rationality 
is opened, from which he sees and even acknowledges of what 
kind are his faith, and his intelligence and wisdom. J have seen 
some returning thence, and have heard them confess that they 
had had no faith, although in the world they thought they had 
much, and in an eminent degree above others; and in like 
manner they confessed respecting their intelligence and wisdom. 
They were some of those who were principled in faith alone, 
and in no charity, and who were in self-derived intelligence. 

171. IV. That aman is taught of the Lord by the Word, 
and by doctrine and preachings from the Word, and thus umme- 
diately from him alone. It was said and shown above, that a 
man is led and taught of the Lord alone, and that from heaven, 
and not by heaven, or by any angel there; and since he is led 
of the Lord alone, it follows, that he is led immediately, not 
mediately ; but how this is done, is now to be explained. 

172. In the Docrrine or THE NEw JERUSALEM CONCERNING 
rH SAcrED Scripture, it is shown, that the Lord is the Word, 
and that all doctrine of the church is to be drawn from the Word. 
Now, because the Lord is the Word, it follows, that the man 
who is taught from the Word, is taught of the Lord alone. But 
as this is difficult to be comprehended, it may be expedient to 
illustrate it in this order: 1. That the Lord is the Word, because 
the Word is from him and concerning him. 2. And because 
it is the divine truth of the divine good. 3. That thus to be 
taught from the Word, is to be taught from him. 4. And that 
this being effected mediately by preaching does not take away 
the immediate teaching. Hirst, That the Lord is the Word, 
because it is from him and concerning him. ‘That the Word is 
from the Lord, is denied by no one in the church ; but that the 
Word is concerning the Lord alone, this indeed is not denied, but 
neither is it known: it is shown, however, in the Docrrine oF 
wun New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE Lorp, n. 1—7, and n. 37 
—44; and in the Docrrine or THE New JERUSALEM CONCERN- 
ING THE SAcRED ScripruRE, n. 62—69, n. 80—90, n. 98, 99, 100. 
Now as the Word is from the Lord alone, and concerning the 
Lord alone, it follows, that when a man is taught from the Word, 
he is taught from the Lord, for the Word is divine. Who can 
communicate what is divine, and plant it in the heart, but the 
Divine Being himself, from whom it is, and of whom it treats ¢ 
Wherefore, the Lord, where he speaks of his conjunction with 
his disciples, says, that they should abide in him, and his 
words in them (John xv. 7); that his words are spirit and life 
(John vi. 63); and that he maketh his abode with those who 

104 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 172 


keep his words, xiv. 20—24. To think, therefore, from the 
Lord, is to think from the Word, as by the Word. That all 
things of the Word have communication with heaven, is shown 
in Tne Doorrine or tun New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE 
SacreD Scripture, from beginning to end; and, as the Lord is 
heaven, it is meant that all things of the Word have communica- 
tion with the Lord himself. The angels of heaven have commu- 
nication indeed, but this also from the Lord. Srconpiy, That 
the Lord is the Word, because it is the divine truth of the divine 
good. ‘That the Lord is the Word, he teaches in John in these 
words: ‘‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 
with God, and God was the Word: and the Word was made 
desh, and dwelt among us,” i. 1,14. This passage has here- 
tofore been no otherwise understood, than as implying that 
God taught men by the Word, therefore it has been explained 
by supposing it an elevated expression, involving that the Lord 
is not the Word itself ; the reason of which is, that man did not 
know that by the Word is meant the divine truth of the divine 
good, or what is the same, the divine wisdom of the divine 
love. That these are the Lord himself, is shown in the treatise 
Ow tHe Divine Love ann tae Divine Wispow, part the first ; 
and that these are the Word, is shown in Tur Docrrmwe oF 
THE New JERvsaALeEM concerninc THe Sacrep Scriprurn, n. 
1—86. How the Lord is the divine truth of the divine good, 
may also be briefly shown in this place. A man is not a man 
from his face and body, but from the good of his love and the 
truths of his wisdom ; and because aman is a man by virtue of 
these principles, every man is also his own truth and his own 
good, or his own love and his own wisdom; and without these 
he is not aman. But the Lord is goodness itself and truth 
itself, or, what is the same, love itself and wisdom itself ; and 
these are the Word, which in the beginning was with God, and 
which was God, and which was made flesh. Turrpry, 7Zaé 
thus to be taught from the Word, is to be taught from the Lord 
himself, because it is to be taught from goodness itself and truth 
itself, or from love itself. and wisdom itself, which are the Word, 
as was said; but every one is taught according to the under- 
standing of his love, and what is over and above does not re- 
main. All those who are taught of the Lord in the Word, are 
instructed in a few truths in the world, but in many when they 
become angels ; forthe interiors of the Word, which are divine 
spiritual and divine celestial things, are implanted at the same 
time, but are not opened in a man till after his death, when 
in heaven, where he is in angelic wisdom, which, compared 
with human, and therefore with his former wisdom, is ineffable. 
That the divine spiritual and the divine celestial things which 
constitute angelic wisdom, are in all and every particular of 
the Word, may be seen in Tur Docrrmu or tar New 
105 


172—174 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED ScriptuRE, n. 5—26. 
Fourruty, That this being effected mediately by preaching does 
not take away the immediate teaching. The Word cannot other- 
wise be taught than mediately by parents, masters, preachers, 
books, and especially by reading it; but still it is not taught 
from them, but by them from the Lord. This is also agreeable 
to what is known to preachers, who say, that they do not speak 
from themselves, but from the spirit of God; and that every 
thing true, as well as every thing good, is from God. They are 
able indeed to say this, and make it enter into the understanding 
of many, but not into the heart of any one; and that which is 
not in the heart, perishes in the understanding: by the heart 
is meant the man’s love. It may hence be seen, that a man is 
led and taught of the Lord alone; and immediately from him, 
when from the Word. ‘This is an arcanum of arcana of angelic 
wisdom. 

173. That by the Word those also have light who are out 
of the church, and have not the Word, is shown in Tar Doc- 
TRINE oF THE NEw JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED 
ScrieturE, n. 104—113: and because a man has light through 
the Word, and from light has understanding, and this is the 
case with the wicked as well as the good, it follows, that from 
light in its origin there is light in its derivations, which are per- 
ceptions and thoughts on any subject whatever. The Lord says, 
that ‘‘ without him they can do nothing” (John xv. 5); that “a 
man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven” 
(John iii. 27); and that our “ Father which is in heaven, maketh 
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on 
the just and on the unjust” (Matt. v.45). By sun is meant 
here, as elsewhere in the Word, in its spiritual sense, the divine 
good of the divine love, and by rain the divine truth of the 
divine wisdom. These are given to the evil and to the good, 
and to the just and to the unjust; for if they were not, no one 
would have perception and thought. That there is one sole life, 

‘from which all have life, was shown above; and perception and 
thought are of life; therefore from the same fountain from which 
is life, are also perception and thought. That all light, which 
makes the understanding, is from the sun of the spiritual world, 
which is the Lord, was abundantly shown above. 

174. V. That aman is led and taught of the Lord wm ex- 
ternals to all appearance as of himself. This is done in his 
externals, but not in his internals; no one knows how the Lord 
leads and teaches a man in his internals, any more than he 
knows how the soul operates in order that the eye may see, the 
ear hear, the tongue and the mouth speak, the heart impel the 
blood, the lungs respire, the stomach digest, the liver and pan- 
creas distribute, the kidneys secrete, and innumerable other 
things. These do not come within a man’s perception and sen- 

106 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 174, 175 


sation; and it is similar with the things which are done of the 
Lord in the interior substances and forms of the mind, which 
things are infinitely more numerous. The operations of the 
Lord therein do not appear to a man; but their effects, which 
are many, do appear, and also some causes of the effects. These 
are externals in which the man is together with the Lord; and 
because externals make one with internals, for they cohere in 
one series, therefore no disposition can be made in internals by 
the Lord, otherwise than according to that which is made in ex- 
ternals by means of the man. Every one knows that a man 
thinks, wills, speaks, and acts to all appearance as from him- 
self; and any one may see, that without such appearance a man 
would have no will and understanding, consequently no affection 
and thought, and also no reception of any thing good and true 
from the Lord. This being the case, it follows, that without 
such appearance there would be no knowledge of God, no charity 
and faith, consequently no reformation and regeneration, and 
therefore no salvation. From which it is evident, that this ap- 
pearance was given to man by the Lord for all those uses; but 
principally that he might have a receptive and a reciprocal prin- 
ciple by which the Lord may be conjoined to him and he to the 
Lord, and that by such conjunction he may live to eternity. It 
is this appearance which is here meant. 


THAT IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT A MAN 
SHOULD NOT PERCEIVE AND FEEL ANY THING OF THE OPERA- 
TION OF THE DIVINE PROVIDEN CE, BUT YET SHOULD KNOW 
AND ACKNOWLEDGE IT. 


175. Tue natural man, who does not believe in the Divine 
Providence, thinks within himself, What is the Divine Provi- 
dence, when I see that the wicked are promoted to honours, 
and acquire wealth more frequently than the good; that: many 
such like things succeed with those who do not believe in the 
Divine Providence better than with those who do; and even 
that infidels and impious persons can occasion injuries, losses, 
and misfortunes, and sometimes death, to the faithful and pious, 
and this by craft and malice? The natural man also thinks to 
himself, Do not I see from experience itself, as in open day, 
that deceitful machinations, provided a man by ingenious cun- 
ning can make them ven to be faithful and just, prevail over 
fidelity and justice? What am I to think then of other cases, 
but that they are necessities, consequences, and fortuitous inci- 
dents, in which nothing from the Divine Providence appears ? 
Are not necessities to be ascribed to nature? Are not conse- 
Tie produced by causes flowing from natural or civil order? 

0 


15; SL (6 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


And are not fortuitous incidents either derived from causes 
which are not known or from no causes at all? Such are the 
thoughts of the natural man, who attributes nothing to God, but 
all things to nature: for he who does not attribute any thing 
to God does not attribute any thing to the Divine Providence 
either, for God and the Divine Providence make one. But the 
spiritual man says or thinks with himself otherwise. Although, 
in thought, he does not perceive, or with his eyes see the Divine 
Providence in its operations, he nevertheless knows and ac- 
knowledges it. Now since the above-mentioned appearances 
and consequent fallacies have blinded the understanding, which 
cannot receive any sight unless the fallacies which induced 
blindness, and the false principles which induced darkness, be 
dispelled; and since this cannot be done except by truths, in 
which there is a power of dispelling false principles, therefore 
these truths are to be opened; but that this may be done dis- 
tinctly, it may be expedient to observe the following order. I. 
That if a man perceived and felt the operation of the Divine 
Providence, he would not act from liberty according to reason, 
nor would any thing appear to him as from himself. It would 
be the same if he foreknew events. II. That if a man plainly 
saw the Divine Providence, he would interfere with the order 
and tenor of its progress, and would pervert and destroy it. Ii. 
That if a man plainly saw the Divine Providence, he would 
either deny God or make himself a god. IV. That it is granted 
a man to see the Divine Providence on the back, and not in the 
face; also in a spiritual state, and not in a natural state. 

176. I. That if w man perceived and felt the operation of the 
Divine Providence, he would not act from liberty according to 
reason, nor would any thing appear to him as his own. It would 
be the same if he foreknew events. That it is a law of the Divine 
Providence that a man should act from liberty according to rea- 
son; also, that whatever a man wills, thinks, speaks, and does, 
should appear to him as from himself; and that without such 
appearance no man would have any thing his own, or be his 
own man, therefore would have nothing proper to himself, and 
thus no imputation, without which it would be indifferent whether 
he should do evil or good, and whether he should have the faith 
of God or a persuasion from hell; in a word, that in such a case 
he would not be a man, was shown above under several articles 
to the evidence of the understanding. We shall now proceed 
to show, that if a man perceived and felt the operation of the 
Divine Providence, he would have no liberty of acting accord- 
ing to reason, and no appearance of acting as from himself, 
because if he perceived and felt it, he would also be led by it; 
for the Lord by his Divine Providence leads all, and a man does 
not lead himself except in appearance, as was also shown above ; 
therefore if he had a lively perception and sensation of being 

108 


Oe — 


<. a. 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 176—178 


led, he would not be conscious of life and in such case would 
scarcely differ from a statue, when operated upon to utter sounds 
and to act. Supposing him, however, still conscious of life, 
yet he would only be led like one bound hand and foot, or like 
a horse before a cart. Who does not see, that in this case the 
man would have no liberty, and if he had no liberty, he would 
also have no reason; for every one thinks from liberty and in 
liberty, and whatever he does not think from liberty and in li- 
berty, does not appear to him from himself, but from another. 
Indeed, if you weigh this interiorly, you will perceive that he 
would also have no thought, much less reason, and consequently 
would not be a man. 

177. It is the continual operation of the Divine Providence 
of the Lord, to withdraw a man from evils: supposing now any 
one were to perceive and feel this continual operation, and yet 
were not to be led as one bound, would he not continually re- 
sist it, and in such case would he not either strive with God, or 
mix self with the Divine Providence? If he did the latter, he 
would make himself also God; if the former, he would loose 
himself from all bonds, and deny God. This is very evident, 
that there would be two powers continually acting against each 
other,—the power of evil from the man, and the power of good 
from the Lord; and when two opposites act against each other, 
then either one overcomes, or both perish; but in this case, 
if one overcomes, both perish; because the evil which is of the 
man does not receive good from the Lord ina moment, nor does 
the good from the Lord cast out the evil from the man in a mo- 
ment; for if either the one or the other were done in a moment, 
lite would not remain in the man. These and many other hurt- 
ful consequences would ensue, if a man were manifestly to per- 
ceive and feel the operation of the Divine Providence. ‘But this 
will be clearly demonstrated by examples in what follows. 

178. The reason, also, why it is not granted a man to fore- 
know events, is, that he may be able to act from liberty accord- 
ing to reason; for it is known, that whatever a man loves, he 
desires to effect, and leads himself to it by reason; also, that 
there is nothing that a man revolves in his reason which is not 
from a desire that it may come into effect by thought. If, 
therefore, he knew the effect or event from divine prediction, 
reason would become quiescent, and with reason, love; for love 
with reason terminates in the effect, and from that begins anew. 
It is the very delight of reason, that from love in the thought 
it may see the eftect,—not in the effect, but before it, or not in 
the present, but in the future. Hence a man has what is called 
Horr, which in reason increases and decreases, as it sees or 
expects the event. This delight is fulfilled in the event, but 
afterwards is obliterated with the thought concerning the event ; 
and it would be the same with an event foreknown. A man’s 

109 


178, 179 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


mind is continually in these three principles, which are called 
end, cause, and effect. If one of these is wanting, the human 
mind is not in its life. The affection of the will is the end from 
which; the thought of the understanding is the cause by which ; 
and the action of the body, the speech of the mouth, or exter- 
nal sensation is the effect of the end by the thought. That the 
human mind is not in its life, when it 1s only in the affection of 
the will, and in nothing else, and in like manner when it 1s 
only in the effect, is evident to any one; therefore the mind has 
not any life from one of the principles separately, but from the 
three in conjunction. This life of the mind would be diminished 
and would recede in an event predicted. 

179. Forasmuch as a foreknowledge of the future takes 
away the essential human principle, which consists in acting 
from liberty according to reason; therefore it is not granted _any 
one to know the future, but every one is allowed to conclude 
concerning things to come from reason; and hence reason with 
all that appertains to it is in his life. It is on this account, 
that a man does not know his lot after death, or know any 
event before it is upon him; for if he knew, he would no longer 
think from his interior self how he should act or live, in order 
that it might happen, but would think only from his exterior 
self, that it would come to pass; and this latter state closes the 
interiors of the mind, in which the two faculties of his life, 
which are liberty and rationality, principally reside. The desire 
of foreknowing the future is connate with most people, but it de- 
rives its origin from the love of evil; it is therefore taken away 
from those who believe in the Divine Providence, and there is 
given them a confidence that the Lord will appoint their lot: 
hence they do not desire to foreknow it, lest by any means 
they should interfere with the Divine Providence. This the 
Lord teaches by many passages in Luke, chap. xii. 14—48. That 
this is a law of the Divine Providence, may be confirmed by many 
circumstances from the spiritual world. Most people, when 
they come into that world after death, desire to know their lot; 
but they are answered that their lot is in heaven if they have 
lived well, and in hell if they have lived ill. But as all, even 
the wicked, are afraid of hell, they ask what they are to do and 
to believe, that they may go to heaven. It is answered, that 
they may do and believe as they will, but they should know, 
that in hell they neither do what is good nor think what is true, 
but only in heaven; and they are told to inquire what is good 
and what is true, and to think the one and do the other, if they 
are able. Thus it is left to every one, in the spiritual world as 
well as in the natural world, to act from liberty according to 
reason; but as they have acted in this world, so they act in that ; 
for the life of every one continues with him, and thence is his 
lot, because the lot is of the life. 

110 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 180 


180. Il. That of aman plainly saw the Divine Providence, 
he would interfere with the order and tenor of its progress, and 
would pervert and destroy it. That this may enter distinctly 
into the perception of the rational and also of the natural man, 
it may be expedient to illustrate it by examples in this order. 
1. That externals have such a connection with internals, that in 
every operation they make one. 2. That a man is only in some 
externals with the Lord, and if he were at the same time in in- 
ternals, he would pervert and destroy all the order and tenor of 
the progress of the Divine Providence. But, as was said, these 
propositions shall be illustrated by examples. Firsr: Z’Aat ex- 
ternal things have such a connection with internal things, that in 
every operation they make one. The illustration in this case shall 
be taken from some particulars in the human body. In the 
whole and in every part of the human bedy there are externals 
and internals: the externals are called skins, membranes, and 
coverings: the internals are forms of nervous fibres and blood- 
vessels, variously composed and united. The covering which 
infolds them, by fibres sent out from itself, enters into all the 
interiors even to the inmost parts; and thus the external, which 
1s the covering, connects itself with all the internals, which are 
organic forms consisting of fibres and vessels. From this it 
follows, that as the external acts or is acted upon, the internals 
also act or are acted upon; for there is a perpetual infolding 
together, or union of the whole. Only take some common cov- 
ering in the body, as for example the Preura, which is the 
common covering of the breast, or of the heart and lungs, and 
examine it with an anatomical eye, or, if you have not made 
this your study, consult anatomists, and you will learn that 
this common covering, by various circumvolutions, and after- 
wards by derivations from itself, finer and finer, enters into the 
most interior parts of the lungs, even to the smallest bronchial 
ramifications, and into the follicles themselves, which are the 
beginnings of the lungs,—not to mention its progress afterwards 
by the trachea into the larynx towards the tongue; from which 
it is evident, that there is a perpetual connection of the outmost 
with the inmost, and therefore as the outmost acts or is acted 
upon, so also the interiors from the inmost act or are acted upon. 
This is the reason, that when that outmost covering, which is 
the pleura, has either a defluxion or inflammation, or is full of 
ulcers, the lungs labour from their inmost parts; and if the dis- 
ease increases, all action of the lungs ceases, and the man dies. 
It is the same with every other part of the body, as with the 
Prrrronxum, the common covering of all the abdominal viscera, 
and also with the coverings about each; as with the stomach, 
the liver, the pancreas, the spleen, the intestines, the mesentery, 

the kidneys, and the organs of generation in both sexes. Take 
" any 7 these parts, and either examine it yourself and you 
1 


180 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


will see, or consult those who are skilled in the science, and you 
will hear. For example, take the liver, and you will find that 
there is a connection of the peritoneum with the covering or 
that viscus, and by that covering with its inmost substance ; 
for there are thence perpetual branchings forth, and insertions 
towards the interiors, and thus continuations to the inmost 
parts, and thence a folding together of the whole, which is such, 
that when the covering acts or is acted upon, the whole form 
in like manner acts or is acted upon. It is the same with the 
rest. The reason is, that in every form, what is common and 
what is particular, or what is universal and what is singular, 
by a wonderful conjunction act as one. That in spiritual 
forms, and in the changes and variations of their state, which 
have relation to the operations of the will and understanding, 
the case is the same as in natural forms and their operations, 
which have relation to motion and action, will be seen below. 
Now as a man, in some external operations, is together with 
the Lord, and the liberty of acting according to reason is not 
taken away from any one, it follows, that the Lord cannot in 
internals act otherwise than as together with the man in exter- 
nals; therefore if a man does not shun and avoid evils as sins, 
the external of the thought and will must be vitiated and diseased, 
and at the same time their internal, comparatively as the pleura 
from its disease which is called pleurisy, in consequence of which 
the body dies. Srconpty, That if a man were at the same time 
in internals, he would pervert and destroy all the order and tenor 
of the Divine Providence. This also may be illustrated by exam- 
ples from the human body : if a man knew all the operations of 
both the brains upon the fibres, of the fibres upon the muscles, 
and of the muscles upon actions, and from a knowledge thereof 
were to dispose all things as he disposes his actions, would he 
not pervert and destroy all? If a man knew how the stomach 
digests, the viscera about it perform their task, elaborating the 
blood, and distributing it for all the business of life, and had 
the disposition of the same as he has in externals,—in the case, 
for example, of eating and drinking,—would he not pervert and 
destroy all? When he cannot dispose the external, which 
appears as one, but destroys it by luxury and intemperance, 
what would be the case if he were also to dispose internals, 
which are infinite? Lest a man, therefore, by any will of his 
should enter into them, and make them subject to himself, the 
internals are entirely exempted from his will, except the muscles, 
which constitute the covering; and moreover it is not known 
how these act: it is only known that they do act. The same 
may be said in respect to the other parts of the body; as if a 
man were to dispose the interiors of his eye to see, the interiors 
of his ear to hear, the interiors of his tongue to taste, the inte- 
riors of his skin to feel, the interiors of his heart to contract, 
112 


:- * 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 180—182 


the interiors of the lungs to respire, the interiors of the mesen- 
tery to distribute the chyle, the interiors of the kidneys to 
secrete, the interiors of the organs of generation to propagate, 
the interiors of the womb to perfect the embryo, and so on, 
would he not by infinite means pervert and destroy in these the 
order of progression of the Divine Providence? That a man 
is in externals is well known; as that he sees with the eye, hears 
with the ear, tastes with the tongue, feels with the skin, respires 
with the lungs, contributes to propagation, &c. Is it not enough 
that he is acquainted with externals, and may dispose them for 
the health of the body and mind? When he cannot do this, 
what would he do if he were also to dispose internals? Hence 
then it may appear, that if a man manifestly saw the Divine 
Providence, he would interfere with the order and tenor of its 
progress, and pervert and destroy it. 

181. The reason why it is the same in the spiritual things of 
the mind as in the natural things of the body, is because all 
things of the mind correspond to all things of the body ; there- 
fore also the mind actuates the body in externals, and in things 
general, at its pleasure. It actuates the eye to see, the ears to 
hear, the mouth and the tongue to eat and to drink, and also 
to speak, the hands to act, the feet to walk, and the organs of 
generation to propagate. The mind not only actuates the exter- 
nals to do these things, but also the internals in all their series, 
the ultimate or outmost from the inmost, and the inmost from 
the ultimate: thus, while it actuates the mouth to speak, it ac- 
tuates the lungs, the larynx, the glottis, the tongue, the lips, 
and each distinctly to its function at once, and also the face 
conformably. Hence it is evident, that the same which was 
said of the natural forms of the body may be said of the spiritual 
forms of the mind, and what was said of the natural operations 
of the body may be said of the spiritual operations of the mind : 
therefore as a man disposes externals, the Lord disposes inter- 
nals,—consequently, in one way if the man of himself clisposes 
externals, and in a different way if he disposes them of the Lord, 
and at the same time as if of himself. A man’s mind is also in 
every particular of its form a man, for it is his spirit, which after 
death appears a man altogether as in the world; and conse- 
quently there are similar things in both. Thus, what was said 
of the conjunction of externals with internals in the body, is also 
to be understood of the conjunction of externals with internals 
in the mind; with this difference only, that the one is natural 
and the other spiritual. 

182. Ill. That if a man manifestly saw the Divine Provi- 
dence, he would either deny God or make himself a god. 'The 
merely natural man says within himself, What is the Divine 
Providence? Is it any thing else or any thing more than a 
esa the vulgar received from the priest? Who sees 

3 


182, 183 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


any thing of it? Is it not prudence, wisdom, cunning, and 
malice, from which all things are effected in the world? As to 
other things derived thence, are they not necessities and conse- 
quences, and also, in many cases, contingencies? Does the 
Divine Providence lie concealed in these things? How can it 
be in craft and cunning? And yet it is said that the Divine 
Providence operates in all things. Cause me therefore to see 
this, and I will believe it. Can any one believe it until he sees 


it? Thus speaks the merely natural man, but not so the spir- 


itual man. The latter, because he acknowledges God, acknowl- 
edges also the Divine Providence, and likewise sees it: but he 
cannot manifest it to any one who thinks only in nature from 
nature; for such a one cannot elevate his mind above nature, 
and see in the appearances of it any thing of the Divine Provi- 
dence, or conclude any thing concerning it from the laws of 
nature, which are also laws of the Divine Wisdom: therefore if 
he manifestly saw it, he would infuse it into nature, and thus 
not only veil it over with fallacies, but also profane it ; instead 
of acknowledging it, he would deny it; and he who in his heart 
denies the Divine Providence also denies God. It must be 
thought either that God governs all things, or that nature does: 
he who thinks that God governs all things, thinks that they are 
governed by love itself and wisdom itself, therefore by life it- 
self; but he who thinks that nature governs all things, thinks 
that they are governed by natural heat and natural light, which 
nevertheless are in themselves dead, because they are from a 
dead sun. Does not that which is really living govern what is 
dead, or can that which is dead govern any thing? If you 
think that what is dead can give life to itself, you are insane ; 
for life must be from life. 

183. That if a man manifestly saw the Divine Providence 
and its operation, he would deny God, appears not probable, 
because it seems that if any one saw it manifestly, he could not 
but acknowledge it, and consequently, acknowledge God; but 
yet itis altogether otherwise. The Divine Providence never acts 
in unity with the love of a man’s will, but continually against 
it; for a man from his hereditary evil always pants towards the 
lowest hell, whereas the Lord by his Providence continually 
withholds him, and draws him out thence, first to a milder hell, 
then from hell, and, lastly, to himself in heaven. This operation 
of the Divine Providence is perpetual ; and therefore if a man 
manifestly saw this retraction and abduction, he would be angry, 
accounting God as his enemy, and from the evil of his proprewm 
would deny him. Lest, therefore, a man should know this, he 
is kept in liberty, whereby he knows no other than that he leads 
himself. But examples may serve for illustration: a man, by 
hereditary disposition, desires to become great, and also to be- 


come rich, and in proportion as these loves are unrestrained, he 


114 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 183, 184 


desires to be greater and richer, and at length the greatest and 
richest of all: nor thus would he be quiet, but would desire to 
become greater than God himself, and to possess the very 
heaven. This cupidity lies deeply concealed in hereditary evil, 
and thence in a man’s life, and in his life’s nature. The Divine 
Providence does not take away this evil in a moment; for if 
it were taken away in a moment, the man would die ; but it is 
taken away tacitly and successively, without the man’s knowing 
any thing of it. This is effected by his being permitted to act 
according to thought, which he makes the thought of his reason, 
and then being withdrawn by various means, as well rational as 
civil and moral: thus, so far ‘as he can be withdrawn in liberty, 
he is withdrawn. Nor can evil be taken away from any one, 
unless it appear, be seen, and acknowledged; like a wound 
which is not healed except it be opened. If, therefore, a man 
knew and saw that the Lord, by his Divine Providence, thus 
operates against his life’s love, from which he has his chief’ 
delight, he could not but run counter to it, be exasperated, 
contend against, speak harsh things, and at length from his own 
evil remove the operation of the Divine Providence, by denying 
it, and thus denying God; especially if he saw his success op- 

osed, himself cast down from dignity, and deprived of opulence. 
It is however to be observed, that the Lord never withholds a 
man from seeking after honours and acquiring wealth, but from 
the cupidity of seeking after honours for the sake of eminence 
only, or for the sake of self; in like manner, from acquiring 
wealth for the sake of opulence only, or for the sake of the 
wealth; but when he withdraws a man from these, he intro- 
duces him into the love of uses, that he may respect eminence, 
not for the sake of self, but for the sake of uses, therefore, 
that it may be of uses and thence of himself, and not first of 
himself and thence of uses: the same is true in regard to 
opulence. That the Lord continually humbles the proud, and 
exalts the humble, he himself teaches in many places of the 
Word; and what he there teaches, that also is of his Divine 
Providence. 

184. The case is the same with other evils in which a man 
is principled from hereditary disposition; as with adulteries, 
frauds, revenges, blasphemies, and other such like; all which 
can be removed no otherwise than by the liberty of thinking 
and willing them being left, that so the man may remove them 
as from himself, which nevertheless he cannot do unless he ac 
knowledges the Divine Providence, and implores that it may be 
effected by it. Without this liberty, and the Divine Providénce 
at the same time, those evils would be like poison shut in, and 
not voided, which would shortly spread and occasion the death 
of all parts: and they would be like a disease of the heart itself, 
. from which the whole body in a short time dies. 

115 I 


T8h—— ib sy ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


185. That this is true, cannot better be known than from 
the case of men after death in the spiritual world, where the 
greatest part of those who in the natural world became great 
and rich, and in honours as well as in riches respected themselves 
alone, at first speak of God and of the Divine Providence, as if 
they acknowledged them in their hearts; but as they then mani- 
festly see the Divine Providence, and from it their final portion, 
which is to be in hell, they connect themselves with devils 
there, and then not only deny God, but also blaspheme ; com- 
ing at length into such a delirium, that they acknowledge the 
more powerful of the devils for their gods, and desire nothing 
more ardently than that they themselves also may be deified. 

186. The reason why a man would run counter to God, and 
also deny him, if he manifestly saw the operations of his Di- 
vine Providence, is, because a man is in the delight of his love, 
and this delight constitutes his very life; therefore when he 
is kept in the delight of his life, he is in his freedom, for free- 
dom and that delight make one. Did he perceive therefore, 
that he is continually drawn away from his délight, he would 
be exasperated as against him who wished to destroy his life, 
and would regard him as an enemy. In order to prevent this, 
the Lord does not manifestly appear in his Divine Providence, 
but tacitly leads a man by it, as an imperceptible tide or pros- 
perous current does a ship. From this a man knows no other 
than that he is constantly in his own propriwm, for with that 
liberty makes one. Hence it is evident, that liberty appropri- 
ates to a man that which the Divine Providence introduces, 
which would not be the case if the latter manifested itself. To 
be appropriated is to become of the life. 

187. IV. That it is granted aman to see the Divine Prove- 
dence on the back, and not inthe face ; also in a spiritual state, 
and not in a natural state. To see the Divine Providence on 
the back and not in the face, is to see it after and not before ; 
and to see it from a spiritual state and not from a natural state, 
is to see it from heaven and not from the world. All those who 
receive influx from heaven, and acknowledge the Divine Provi- 
dence—especially those who by reformation are made spiritual, 
—when they see events in a certain wonderful series, do, as it 
were, from interior acknowledgment see and confess a Provi- 
dence. These do not desire to see it in the face, that is, before it 
exists; for they are afraid lest their own will should enter into any 
thing of its order and tenor. Not so those who do not admit 
any influx from heaven, but only from the world, especially those 
who from the confirmation of appearances in themselves are 
made natural: these do not see any thing of the Divine Provi- 
dence from behind or after it, but they want to see it in the face, 
or before it exists; and as the Divine Providence operates by 
means, and means are effected through man or through the 

116 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 188—190 


world, therefore, whether they see it before or after, they at- 
tribute it either to man or to nature, and thus confirm them- 
selves in the denial of it. The reason why they so attribute 
it, is, because their understanding is closed above and open 
only below; consequently, shut towards heaven and open to- 
wards the world; and it is not permitted to see the Divine 
Providence from the world, but from heaven. I have sometimes 
thought within myself whether such persons would acknowledge 
the Divine Providence, if their understanding was opened above, 
and they saw as in clear day that nature in itself is dead, and 
that human intelligence in itself is nothing, but that it is only 
from influx that both these appear to be; and I perceived that 
those who have confirmed themselves in favour of nature and 
human prudence would not acknowledge it, because the natural 
light flowing in from beneath would immediately extinguish the 
spiritual light flowing in from above. 

189. The man who is made spiritual by the acknowlede- 
ment of God, and wise by the rejection of his propriwm, sees 
the Divine Providence in the universal world, and in all and 
every particular thereof. If he looks at natural things he sees 
it; if he looks at civil things he sees it; if he looks at spiritual 
things he sees it; and this as well in the simultaneous as in 
the successive order of things,—in ends, in causes, in effects, 
in uses, in forms, in things great and small; especially in the 
salvation of men; as, that Jehovah gave the Word, that by it he 
taught men concerning God, concerning heaven and hell, and 
concerning life eternal ; and that he came into the world himself, 
that he might redeem and save men. These, and more things 
of a similar kind, and the Divine Providence in them, does a 
man see from spiritual light in natural light. But the merely 
natural man sees nothing of these things: he is like one who 
beholds a magnificent temple, and hears a preacher illuminated 
in divine things, and says, when returned home, that he saw 
nothing but a stone building, and heard nothing but articulate 
sounds: or he is like a near-sighted man who goes into a garden 
furnished with all kinds of fruits, and then comes home and 
declares that he saw only a wood and trees. Such persons also, 
after death, when they become spirits, if they are taken up into 
the angelic heaven, where all things are in forms representative 
of love and wisdom, see nothing of such objects, or even of 
their existence ; as I have perceived with respect to several who 
denied the Divine Providence. 

190. There are many constant or fixed things, which were 
created in order that things inconstant or unfixed might exist : 
such are the stated times of the rising and setting of the sun 
and moon, and also of the stars; the darkening of them by 
interpositions, which are called eclipses ; heats and lights from 
pag pus seasons of the year, which are called spring, summer, 


190 ANGELIG WISDOM CONCERNING 


autumn, and winter; and the times of the day, which are 
morning, noon, evening, and night; also the atmospheres, 
waters, and earths considered in themselves; the vegetative 
faculty in the vegetable kingdom, and together with it the pro- 
lific faculty in the animal kingdom, and likewise the things 
which are constantly produced from these, when they are put in 
action according to the laws of order. These and many other 
things are provided by creation, that things infinitely various 
may exist; for variety cannot exist except in things constant, 
stated, and certain. But examples will illustrate this. The 
various things of vegetation would not exist, if the rising and 
setting of the sun, and the heat and light thence proceeding, 
were not constant. Harmonies are of infinite variety: but they 
would not exist, if the atmospheres in their laws, and the ears 
in their form, were not constant. The varieties of sight, which 
are also infinite, would not exist, unless the ether in its laws, 
and the eye in its form, were constant; nor, in like manner, 
colours, unless the light were constant. It is the same with 
thoughts, speech, and actions which also are of infinite variety, 
and which would not exist, except the organic parts of the 
body were constant. Must not a house be constant, that various 
things may be done therein? in like manner, a temple, that 
various particulars of divine worship, sermons, instructions, and 
meditations of piety, may be performed therein? and so in 
other things. As to what relates to the varieties themselves, 
which are produced in things constant, stated, and certain, they 
go on ad infinitum, and have no end; yet, in all and singular 
the things of the universe, there never exists one entirely the 
same with another, or can exist in the succession of things to 
eternity. Who disposes these varieties, which go on to infinity 
and eternity, that they may be in order, but He who created 
things constant, to the end that such varieties might exist 
therein? And who can dispose the infinite varieties of life 
among men, but He who is life itself, that is, love itself and 
wisdom itself? Without his Divine Providence, which is as a 
continual creation, could the infinite affections and the thoughts 
of men thence derived, and thus the men themselves, be so 
disposed as to make one,—evil affections and the thoughts 
thence derived, one devil which is hell; and good affections and 
the thoughts thence derived, one Lord in heaven? That the 
universal angelic heaven is in the sight of the Lord as one man, 
who is the image and likeness of himself, and that the universal 
hell is in opposition as one man-monster, has been said and 
shown occasionally before. These observations are made, be- 
cause some natural men, even from things constant and stated, 
which are necessary to the end that various things may exist in 
them, catch at arguments in their delirium in favour of nature 
and self-derived prudence. 
118 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 191,192 


THAT SELF-DERIVED PRUDENCE IS NOTHING, AND ONLY AP- 
PEARS AS IF IT WAS, AND ALSO OUGHT SO TO APPEAR; 
BUT THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE FROM THINGS THE 
MOST SINGULAR IS UNIVERSAL. 


191. Tar self-derived prudence is nothing, is altogether 
contrary to appearance, and therefore contrary to the belief of 
many; and because it is so, no one who from appearance is in 
the belief that human prudence does every thing, can be con- 
vinced but by reasons of deeper investigation, which are to be 
taken from causes. Such appearance is an effect, and its causes 
discover whence it is. In this preliminary part something shall 
be said of the common opinion concerning this matter. Con- 
trary to appearance is this tenet which the church teaches,— 
that love and faith are not from man but from God, as also 
wisdom and intelligence, consequently prudence likewise, and 
every thing good and true in general. When these tenets are 
received, it must also be admitted, that self.derived prudence is 
nothing, but only appears as if it was. Prudence is from no 
other source than intelligence and wisdom, and these two are 
from no other source than the understanding and thought thence 
derived of what is good and true. This is received and believed 
by those who acknowledge the Divine Providence, and not by 
those who acknowledge human prudence alone. Now either 
what the church teaches must be true, that all wisdom and pru- 
dence is from God, or what the world teaches, that all wisdom 
and prudence is from man. Can they be reconciled in any other 
way than by saying that what the church teaches is true, and 
what the world teaches is an appearance? For the church con- 
firms what it teaches from the Word, and the world what it 
teaches from its proprium,; but the Word is from God, and 
proprvum is from man. Since prudence is from God, and not 
from man, therefore a Christian man, when he is in devotion, 
prays that God would lead his thoughts, intentions, and actions, 
adding also, because from himself he cannot: such a one also, 
when he sees any one doing good, says that he was inclined to 
it by God, and other similar things. Can any one so speak, un- 
less he then interiorly believes it? and to believe it interiorly 
is from heaven; but when he thinks within himself, and col- 
lects arguments in favour of human prudence, he can believe the 
contrary, and this is from the world. Internal belief, however, 
prevails with those who acknowledge God in their hearts, and 
external belief with those who do not acknowledge God in their 
hearts, however they may do it with their mouths. 

192. It was said, that no one, who from appearance is in 
the belief that human prudence does every thing, can be con- 
vinced except by reasons of deeper investigation, which are to 

119 


192, 193 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


be deduced from causes; therefore, that reasons deduced from 
causes may be evident to the understanding, it is expedient to 
present them in their order, which will be as follows. I. That 
alla man’s thoughts are from the affections of his life’s love, 
and that there do not and cannot exist any thoughts at all with- 
out those affections. II. That the affections of a man’s life’s 
love are known to the Lord only. III. That the affections of a 
man’s life’s love are led of the Lord by his Divine Providence, 
and at the same time his thoughts, from which human prudence 
is derived. IV. That the Lord by his Divine Providence con- 
nects together the affections of the whole human race into one 
form, which is haman. V. That thence heaven and hell, which 
are from the human race, are in such a form. VI. That those 
who have acknowledged nature alone and human prudence alone, 
constitute hell; and those who have acknowledged God, and his 
Divine Providence, constitute heaven. VII. That all these 
things cannot be effected, unless it appears to a man that he 
thinks and disposes things from himself. 

193. IL. That all a man’s thoughts are from the affections of 
his life’s love, and that there do not and cannot eaist any thoughts 
at all without those affections. What the life’s love is, what the 
affections and thoughts thence derived, and from these the 
sensations and actions which exist in the body, are in their 
essence, was shown above in this treatise, and also in that which 
is called Ancutic Wispom conceRNING THE Divine LovE AnD 
one Divine Wispom, particularly in Part I. and Part V. Now 
since from these things are the causes from which human pru- 
dence flows as an effect, it is necessary that some of them 
should be adduced here also; for the things which are written 
in another place cannot be connected so continuously with the 
things which are written after them, as if the same are recalled 
and placed in view. Above, in this treatise, and in that before 
mentioned concerning Tae Divine Love anp tue Divine 
Wispom, it is demonstrated, that in the Lord there are divine 
love and divine wisdom; that these two are life itself; that from 
these two a man has will and understanding,—from the divine 
love will, and from the divine wisdom understanding; that to 
these two principles the heart and lungs in the body correspond ; 
and thence it may appear, that as the pulsation of the heart, 
together with the respiration of the lungs, governs the whole 
man as to his body, so the will, together with the understand- 
ing, governs the whole man as to his mind; that thus there 
are two principles of life in every man, one natural and the 
other spiritual, and that the natural principle of life is the pulsa- 
tion of the heart, and the spiritual principle of life the will of 
the mind; and that each adjoins to itself a consort, with 
which it cohabits, and with which it performs the functions of 
life, the heart conjoining to itself the lungs, and the will con- 

120 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 193—195 


joining to itself the understanding. Now, since the soul of the 
will is love, and the soul of the understanding is wisdom, both 
from the Lord, it follows, that love is the life of every one, and 
that according to the nature of its conjunction with wisdom, 
such is the life: or, what is the same, that the will is the life of 
every one, and that according to the nature of its conjunction 
with the understanding such is the life. But on this subject 
see more in a preceding part of this treatise, and especially in 
Tne Ancetic Wisbom concerninG THE Divinr Love AND ‘THE 
Divine Wispom, in Part I. and Part V. 

194. In these two treatises it is also demonstrated, that the 
life’s love produces from itself subordinate loves, which are 
called affections, and which are exterior and interior; and that 
these taken together make as it were one dominion or kingdom, 
in which the life’s love is lord or king. It is also demonstrated, 
that those subordinate loves or affections adjoin to themselves 
consorts, each its own,—the consorts of the interior affections 
being called perceptions, and those of the exterior affections 
being called thoughts; that each cohabits with its own consort, 
and discharges the functions of its life; and that there is a con- 
junction of both, like that of the essence of life with the existence 
of life, which is such, that one is not any thing but in conjunction 
with the other: for what is the essence of life unless it exists, 
and what is the existence of life but from its essence ? also, that 
the conjunction of life is like that of sound and harmony, or of 
sound and speech, and in general like that of the pulsation of the 
heart and the respiration of the lungs; which conjunction is 
such that one without the other is not any thing, but that one 
by conjunction with the other becomes something. Conjunctions 
must either be in them, or are produced by them. Take sound 
for example: he is mistaken who thinks that sound is any thing, 
unless there be something in it which distinguishes. Sound 
also corresponds to affection in a man; and as there is in it 
always something which distinguishes, therefore from the sound 
or tone of a man’s voice in speaking, is known the affection of 
his love, and from its variation, which is speech, is known his 
thought. Hence it is, that the wiser angels, merely froin the 
sound or tone of voice of him who speaks, perceive his life’s 
loves, together with certain affections which are derivations. 
These things are adduced, in order that it may be known, that 
there does not exist any affection without its thought, or any 
thought without its affection. But more may be seen on the 
subject above in this treatise, and in Tue Ancetic Wispom 
CONCERNING THE Divine Love anv THE Drvinr Wispom. 

195. Now, as the life’s love has its delight, and the- wisdom 
thereof has its pleasantness, and in like manner every affec- 
tion—which in its essence is a subordinate love derived from 
the life’s love, as a stream from its fountain, or as a branch 

121 


195, 196 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


from its tree, or as an artery from its heart—has its delight, 
and thence every perception and thought its pleasantness; it 
therefore follows, that those delights and pleasantnesses consti- 
tute a man’s life. What is life without its delight and pleasant- 
ness? It is not any thing animate, but inanimate. Diminish 
delight and pleasantness, and you will grow cold or torpid; take 
them away, and you will expire and die. From the delights of 
the affections, and the pleasantnesses of the perceptions and 
thoughts, is derived the vital heat. Since every affection has 
its delight, and the thought thence derived its pleasantness, it 
may be plainly seen whence are good and truth, and also what 
they are in their essence. Good is to every one that which is 
the delight of his affection, and truth that which is the plea- 
santness of his thought thence derived: for every one calls that 
good which from the love of his will he feels delightful, and 
that true which from the wisdom of his understanding he thence 
perceives as pleasant. They both flow from the life’s love, as 
water from a fountain, or as blood from the heart; and taken 
together are like a tide or atmosphere in which dwells the whole 
human mind. These two, delight and pleasantness, are spi- 
ritual in the mind, but natural in the body; and as existing in 
both they constitute a man’s life. Hence it is evident what that 
is In a man which is called good, and what that which is called 
true; also, what that is in a man which is called evil, and what 
that which is called false; namely, that that is evil to him which 
destroys the delight of his affection, and that false which destroys 
the pleasantness of his thought thence derived. It is further 
evident, that evil from its delight and falsity from its plea- 
santness, may be called and thought good and true. Goods 
and truths are indeed changes and variations of state in the 
forms of the mind, but these, are only perceived and exist by 
their delights and pleasantnesses. These things are stated, that 
it may be known what affection and thought are in their life. 

196. Now, since it is not a man’s body, but his mind which 
thinks, and thinks from the delight of its affection; and since 
a man’s mind is his spirit, which lives after death, it follows 
that a man’s spirit is nothing but affection, and thought thence 
derived. That there cannot exist any thought without affection, 
is very evident from spirits and angels in the spiritual world ; 
for all there think from the affections of their life’s love, the 
delight thereof encompassing every one as his atmosphere; and 
all there are connected according to the spheres emanating from 
their affections through their thoughts. The character and 
quality, also, of every one is known from the sphere of his life. 
Hence it may appear, that all thought is from affection, and 
that it is the form of its affection. It is the same with the will 
and the understanding; the same with good and truth; and the 
same with charity and faith. 

122 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 197 


197. Il. That the affections of a man’s life's love are known 
to the Lord alone. A man knows his thoughts and thence his 
intentions, because he sees them in himself ; and as all prudence 
is from them, he sees that also in himself. If in this case his 
life’s love is the love of self, he comes into the pride of self. 
derived intelligence, and ascribes prudence to himself, collecting 
arguments in favour of it, and so receding from the acknow. 
ledgment of the Divine Providence. Tt is similar if the love 
of the world is his life’s love; but then he does not recede in 
the same degree. From these considerations it is evident, that 
these two loves ascribe all things to the man and hig prudence ; 
and, if examined more interiorly, nothing to God and his pro- 
vidence. Therefore when persons of that description happen to 
hear it stated as the truth, that human prudence is nothing, and 
that it is the Divine Providence alone which governs all things, 
they laugh at it if they are absolute atheists ; but if they retain 
any thing of religion in the memory, and it is affirmed to them 
that all wisdom is from God, they acknowledge it indeed at first 
hearing, but yet inwardly in their spirit deny it. Such par- 
ticularly are priests, who love themselves better than God, and 
the world better than heaven, or, what is the same thing, who 
worship God for the sake of honours and interest, and yet preach 
that charity and faith, every thing good and true, likewise all 
wisdom, and even all prudence, are from God, and nothing 
from man. In the spiritual world I once heard two priests dis- 
puting with a certain royal legate concerning human prudence, 
whether it be from God or from man; and their dispute was 
warm. They all three in their hearts thought alike, namely, that 
human prudence does every thing, and the Divine Providence 
nothing; but the priests, who were then under the influence of 
theological zeal, said that nothing of wisdom and prudence is 
from man; and when the legate replied, that at that rate there 
would be no thought from man either, they said that there was 
none. As it was perceived by the angels, however, that: these 
three were of the same opinion, the legate was told to put on 
the garments of a priest, and think himself a priest, and then 
to speak: he accordingly did put them on, and thought as he 
was desired; and then he declared loudly that there never can 
be any wisdom or pruduce in a man but from God, and defended 
himself with his usual eloquence, full of rational arguments. 
Afterwards they said to the two priests also, Put off your gar- 
ments, and put on the garments of political ministers, and think 
yourselves such: they did so, and then at the same time thought 
from their inner selves, and spoke from arguments which they had 
before cherished inwardly in favour of human prudence against 
the Divine Providence. “As these three were in a similar faith, 
_ they subsequently became intimate friends and entered together 
into the path of self-derived prudence, which leads to hell. 

123 


198, 199 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


198. It was shown above, that a man has not any thought, 
except from some affection of his life’s love, and that thought 
is nothing else than the form of affection. Since, therefore, 
a man sees his thought, and cannot see his affection, for he 
feels the latter, it follows, that it is from sight, which is in 
appearance, that he concludes self-derived prudence to do every 
thing; and not from affection, which does not come into sight, 
but into sensation. For affection only manifests itself by a 
certain delight of thought and pleasure of ratiocination concern- 
ing it, and then this pleasure and delight make one with thought 
*n those who are in the belief of self-derived prudence from the 
love of self or the love of the world; and thought flows in its 
delight as a ship in the current of a river, to which the sailor 
does not attend, but only to the sails which he expands. 

199. A man can reflect, indeed, upon the delight of his 
external affection, when it acts as one with the delight of any 
bodily sense; but yet he does not reflect that that delight is 
from the delight of his affection in thought. For example: when 
a fornicator sees a harlot, his eyes sparkle with the fire of las- 
civiousness, and from it he feels delight in the body; but yet 
he does not feel the delight of his affection or concupiscence in 
thought, but as something of cupidity in the body. It is' the 
same with a robber in the woods, when he sees travellers; a 
pirate in the sea, when he sees ships ; and so with others. That 
these delights govern his thoughts, and that his thoughts are 
nothing without them, is evident; but he thinks that they are 
only thoughts, when nevertheless thoughts are nothing but 
affections composed into forms by his life’s love, that they may 
appear in the light; for all affection is in heat, and all thought in 
light. These are affections of external thought, which manifest 
themselves indeed in the sehsation of the body, but rarely in the 
thought of the mind: but the affections of internal thought, 
from which the external exist, never manifest themselves to a 
man, Of these he knows no more than a traveller sleeping in a 
carriage does of his journey, or than a man feels the circum- 
rotation of the earth. Now, since a man knows nothing of the 
things which are transacted in the interiors of his mind, which 
are so infinite that they cannot be defined by numbers, and yet 
the few externals which come to the sight of his thought are 
prpances from interiors, and the interiors are regulated of the 

ord alone by his Divine Providence, and those few externals 
by the Lord in conjunction with the man ; how can any one say, 
that his own prudence does every thing? If you were only to 
see one idea of thought disclosed, you would see more stupendous 
things than tongue can utter. That in the interiors of a man’s 
mind there are such infinite things as cannot be defined by 
numbers, is evident from the infinite number of things in the 
body, from which nothing comes to the sight and sense but 

124 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 199—9201 


action alone in much simplicity, to which, nevertheless, concur 
thousands of moving or muscular fibres, thousands of nervous 
fibres, thousands. of blood-vessels, and thousands of pulmonary 
vessels, which must co-operate in every action, thousands of 
things in the brains and in the spinal marrow ; and there are 
many more still in the spiritual man, which is the human mind ; 
all the things whereof are forms of atfections, and of perceptions 
and thoughts thence derived. Does not the soul which clisposes 
interior things dispose actions also by virtue thereof? A man’s 
soul is nothing but the love of his will, and the love of his un- 
derstanding thence derived: such as this love is, such is the 
whole man; and he is made such according to the disposition 
in externals in which he is concerned with the Lord. Therefore 
if he attributes all things to himself and to nature, his soul 
becomes the love of self; but if he attributes all things to the 
Lord, his soul becomes the love of the Lord: and the latter love 
is celestial, but the former infernal. 

200. Now, since the delights of a man’s affections carry him 
from inmost things by the interiors to the exteriors, and at 
length to the outermost, which are in the body, as the airs 
and currents carry a ship; and since nothing of them appears 
to the man but what is done in the outermost of the mind and 
of the body, how can a man claim to himself what is divine from 
this circumstance alone, that those few outermost things appear 
to him as his own? Still less ought he to claim to himself what 
is divine, when he knows from Tre Worp, that a man cannot 
take any thing from himself, except it be given him from heaven ; 
and knows from reason, that that appearance is granted him, 
in order that he may live a man, see what is good and evil, 
choose one or the other, and appropriate to himself that which 
he chooses, that there may be a possibility of his being joined 
reciprocally to the Lord, reformed, regenerated, saved, and of 
his living to eternity. That this appearance was granted to man 
that he might act from liberty according to reason, thus as if 
from himself, and not hang down his hands and wait for influx, 
was stated and shown above. Hence follows the confirmation 
of that which was to be demonstrated thirdly, That the affections 
of a man’s life's love are led of the Lord by his Divine Provi- 
dence, and at the same time his thoughts, from which human 
prudence is derived. 

» 201. IV. That the Lord by his Divine Providence connects 
together the affections of the whole human race into one Sorm, 
which is the human. That this is a universal of the Divine Pro- 
vidence, will be seen in the subsequent paragraph. Those who 
ascribe all things to nature, likewise ascribe all things to human 
prudence ; for those who ascribe all things to nature deny God 
_in their hearts, and those who ascribe all things to human 
prudence, deny the Divine Providence in their hearts: one is 

125 


201, 202 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


not separable from the other. Yet both these sorts of persons 
for the sake of their reputation, and for fear of losing it, profess 
with their mouths that the Divine Providence is universal or 
general, but that the singulars of it rest with man; and that 
these singulars in their complex are understood by human pru- 
dence. But think within yourself, what is universal providence, 
when singulars are separated from it? Ts it any thing more 
than a bare word? For that is called universal which 1s formed 
of singulars connected together, as that is common which exists 
from particulars. If, therefore, you separate sinculars, what 
then js the universal but like something which is empty within, 
consequently like a surface within which there is nothing, or 
like a complex containing nothing? If it should be alleged, 
that the Divine Providence is a universal government, and that 
nothing is governed, but only kept in its connection, while the 
things which relate to government are disposed by others, can 
this be called a universal government? No king has such a 
government as this ; for if a king were to allow his subjects to 
govern every thing in his kingdom, he would be no longer a king, 
but would only be called a king, therefore would have only a 
nominal and not a real dignity. Such a king cannot be said to 
hold the government, much less universal government. Provi- 
dence with God is called prudence with man: as there cannot 
be said to be universal prudence in a king who has reserved to 
himself no more than the name, in order that his kingdom may 
be called a kingdom, and thus kept together; so neither could 
there be said to be a universal Providence, if men from their 
own prudence were to provide every thing. It is the same with 
the name of universal providence, and of universal government, 
as spoken in relation to nature, when it is understood that God 
created the universe, and endued nature with a power of pro- 
ducing all things from herself: what is universal providence in 
this case, but a metaphysical term, or a mere sound without 
meaning? And of those who attribute to nature every thing that 
is produced, and to human prudence every thing that is done, 
yet profess with their mouths that God created nature, many 
think no otherwise of the Divine Providence than as of an empty 
sound. But the case really is, that the Divine Providence exists 
in the most minute particulars of nature, and in the most minute 
Peace of human prudence, and by governing these particu- 
ars, governs universally. 

302. The Divine Providence of the Lord is universal from 
things the most particular in this, that he created the universe, 
to the end that an infinite and eternal creation might exist 
therein from himself; and this creation exists by the. Lord’s 
forming from men a heaven, which appears before him as one 
man, in the image and likeness of himself. That heaven formed 
from men is such in the sight of the Lord, and that this was 

126 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 202, 203 


the end of creation, was shown above, n. 27—45: and that the 
Divine, in all that it does, has respect to what is infinite and 
eternal, n. 56—69. The infinite and eternal to which the Lord 
has respect in forming his heaven out of men, is, that it may be 
enlarged to infinity and eternity; and thus that he may con- 
stantly dwell in the end of his creation. This creation which 
the Lord provided by the creation of the universe is infinite 
and eternal, and in this creation he is constantly engaged by his 
Divine Providence. Who that knows and believes from the 
doctrine of the church, that God is infinite and eternal—( for 
the doctrine of all the churches in the Christian world holds, that 
God the Father, God the Son, and God the floly Ghost, ts infi- 
nite, eternal, uncreate, and omnipotent ; see the Athanasian Creed ) 
—can be so void of reason as not to assent, when he hears that 
God cannot do otherwise than respect infinity and eternity in his 
great work of creation,—(for how can he act otherwise when he 
acts from himself?)—and also that he respects this in the human 
race, out of which he forms his own heaven? What else then 
can the Divine Providence have for its end, but the reformation 
and salvation of the human race? And no one can be reformed 
of himself by his own prudence, but of the Lord by his Divine 
Providence: hence it follows, that except a man is led by the 
Lord every moment, even every the most minute point of time, 
he departs from the way of reformation, and perishes. Every 
change and variation of state of the hum&n mind changes and 
varies something in the series of things present, and thereby of 
things consequent : what then must it not do in the progression 
to eternity? Itis like an arrow shot from a bow, which, if its 
direction at first should decline ever so little from the mark, 
would diverge immensely at the distance of a mile or more ; SO 
would it be if the Lord, every the least moment, did not. lead 
and govern the state of human minds. This the Lord does 
according to the laws of his Divine Providence ; according to 
which it is also necessary, that it should appear to a man as if 
he led himself; but the Lord foresees how he will lead or guide 
himself, and_ continually provides accordingly. That the laws 
of permission are also laws of the Divine Providence ; that every 
man may be reformed and regenerated; and that there does not 
exist any such thing as predestination, will be seen in what 
follows. 

203. Since, therefore, every man lives after death to eternity, 
and according to his life here has his place assigned to him 
either in heaven or in hell, and both these, as well heaven as 
hell, must be in such a form as to act as one, as was said before ; 
and since no one can occupy any other place in that form but 
his own ; it follows, that the human race throughout the whole 
. world is under the auspices of the Lord, and that every one, 
Bie infancy even to the end of his life, is led of him in the 

2 


2038—206 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


most minute particulars, and his place foreseen, and at the same 
time provided. From which considerations it is evident, that 
the Divine Providence of the Lord is universal, because it is in 
the most minute particulars; and that this is the infinite and 
eternal creation which the Lord has provided for himself by the 
creation of the universe. Of this universal providence a man 
does not see any thing; and if he did, it could not appear to 
him otherwise than as the scattered heaps and collections of 
materials, out of which a house is to be formed, appear to those 
who pass by; but by the Lord it is seen as a magnificent palace, 
the building and enlarging of which is continually going on. 

204. WV. That heaven and hell are in such a form. That 
heaven is in the human form, has been made known in the 
work concerning Heaven anp Herr, published in London in 
1758, n. 59—102; also in the treatise concerning THe Divine 
Love anp tHe Divine Wispom; and in some parts of this 
treatise; it is therefore unnecessary to give it further con- 
firmation. It is said that hell also is in the human form, but 
it is ina monstrous human form, such as is that of the devil, 
by whom is meant hell in its whole complex. It is in the 
human form, because those also who are there were born men, 
and have moreover those two human faculties which are called 
liberty and rationality, although they have abused their liberty 
to will and to do evil, and their rationality to think and con- 
firm it. 

905. WI. That those who have acknowledged nature alone 
and human prudence alone, constitute helt ; and those who have 
acknowledged God and his Divine Providence constitute heaven. 
All who lead an evil life interiorly acknowledge nature and 
human prudence alone; for such acknowledgment lies inwardly 
concealed in all evil, however it may be covered by things good 
and true; these being borrowed garments, or like perishable 
decorations of flowers, strewed over evil lest it should appear in 
‘ts nakedness. That all who lead an evil life interiorly acknow- 
ledge nature and human prudence alone, is not known because 
of that common covering by which it is hid from view; but that 
they do nevertheless acknowledge them, may appear from the 
origin and cause of such acknowledgment, for the purpose of 
discovering what it may be expedient to explain, whence and 
what selfderived prudence is; then, whence and what the 
Divine Providence is ; afterwards, who and what kind of persons 
they are who favor the latter, and also those who favor the 
former; and lastly, that those who acknowledge the Divine 
Providence are in heaven, and those who acknowledge self- 
derived prudence are in hell. . 

206. Wuencr AND wir self-derived prudence zs. It is from 
a man’s proprium which is his nature, and is called his soul, 
derived from the parent. This proprium is the love of self and 

128 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 206, 207 


the love of the world thence derived, or the love of the world 
and the love of self thence derived. The love of self is such, 
that it regards itself only, and looks upon others either as vile 
or of no account; or if it respects any person or thing, it is only 
so long as they honour and worship itself. Just like the effort 
to fructify and propagate, which is contained in a seed, there 
lies concealed in the inmost of self-love a desire to become 
great, tobe made a king if possible, and then if possible to be 
deified. Such is a devil, because he is essentially the love of self, 
being such that he adores himself, and favours no one who does 
not also adore him. He hates another devil like himself, because 
he wishes himself alone to be adored. As no love can exist 
without its consort, and the consort of love or of the will in a 
man is called the understanding, therefore when the love of self 
Inspires its love into the understanding its consort, it there 
becomes conceit, which is the conceit of self-derived intelligence, 
from which self-derived prudence proceeds. Now, since the 
love of self desires to be sole lord of the world, consequently a 
god, therefore the concupiscences of evil, which are derivations 
thence, have from it life in themselves, as have in like manner 
the perceptions of concupiscences, which are all sorts of craft 
and cunning; and as have also the delights of concupiscences 
which are evils, and their thoughts which are falses. All these 
are like servants and ministers of their lord, and act at his 
command, not knowing that they do not act, but are acted 
upon, being acted upon by the love of self through the conceit of 
self-derived intelligence. “Hence it is that self-derived prudence, 
by virtue of its origin, lies concealed in every evil. The reason 
why an acknowledgment of nature alone ‘also lies concealed 
therein, is, because self-love has closed as it were its upper 
window, or sky-light, by which there is an open communication 
with heaven, and the side windows also, lest it should see and 
hear that the Lord alone governs all things, that nature in 
herself is void of life, that a man’s proprium is hell, and con- 
sequently that the love of the proprium is the devil : then, having 
shut the windows, it is in the dark, and there makes a fire for 
itself, by which it sits down with its consort; and they reason 
like friends in favour of nature against God, and in favour of self- 
derived prudence against the Divine Providence. 

207. WuEnce AND wuar the Divine Providence is. Tt is 
the divine operation in the man who removes the love of self : 
for selflove, as before said, is the devil, and concupiscences 
and their delights are the evils of his kingdom, which is hell. 
These being removed, the Lord enters with affections of neigh- 
bourly love, and opens the man’s sky-light, and then his side 
windows, causing him to see that there is a heaven, a life after 
_ death, and everlasting happiness; and by means of the spiritual 
light and at the same time spiritual love then flowing in causes 

129 


907—210 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


him to acknowledge that God by his Divine Providence governs 
all things. 

908. Wo ann waar kind of persons those are who favour 
the latter, and also those who favour the former. Those who 
acknowledge God and his Divine Providence, are like the angels 
of heaven, who dislike to be led of themselves, and love to be 
led of the Lord: and a sign of their being led of the Lord, is, 
that they love their neighbour. But those who acknowledge 
nature and their own prudence, are like infernal spirits, who 
dislike to be led of the Lord, and love to be led of themselves. 
These, if they are persons of distinction in a kingdom, desire to 
have dominion in all things. So, also, if they are primates of 
the church. If they are judges, they pervert judgment, and 
exercise dominion over the laws. If men of learning, they apply 
scientifies to confirm the proprium of man and nature. If 
they are merchants, they act as thieves: if husbandmen, as 
robbers. They are all enemies of God, and deriders of the Divine 
Providence. 

909. It is wonderful, that when heaven is opened to such, 
and they are told that they are mad, and their madness is also 
made manifest to their perception, which is done by influx and 
illumination, they still, from indignation, shut heaven against 
themselves, and look down to the earth, under which is hell. 
This is the case with such of them in the spiritual world as are 
still out of hell, and yet of such a disposition; from which 
circumstance is evinced the error of those who think, If I were 
to see heaven, and hear the angels speak to me, I should acknow- 
ledge. Their understanding however acknowledges; but if their 
will does not at the same time, they nevertheless do not acknow- 
ledge; for the love of the will infuses into the understanding 
whatever it chooses, and not vice versa ; obliterating indeed 
every thing in the understanding which is not from itself. 

310. VIL. That all these things cannot be bate unless 
ét appears to a man that he thinks and disposes from himself. 
That in case it did not appear to a man, as if he lived from 
himself, and thus thought and willed, spoke and acted as from 
himself, he would not be a man, is fully demonstrated in the 
preceding pages: from which it follows, that if a man did not 
dispose, as if from his own. prudence, all things appertaining 
to his function and life, he could not be guided and regulated 
by the Divine Providence; for he would be like one standing 
with his hands hanging down, his mouth open, his eyes shut, 
and his breath indrawn, in expectation of influx. He would 
therefore divest himself of humanity, which consists in the 
perception and sensation that he lives, thinks, wills, speaks, 
and acts as if from himself; and at the same time he would 
divest himself of his two faculties, liberty and rationality, by 
which he is distinguished from beasts. That without such 

130 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 210—2192 


appearance no man would possess receptibility and reciprocality, 
or therefore immortality, is demonstrated above in this treatise, 
and also in that on the Divine Love anp THE Divine Wispom. 
Therefore, if you desire to be led by the Divine Providence, use 
prudence, as a servant and minister, who may faithfully dispense 
the goods of his master. This prudence is the talent given to 
the servants to traffic with, of which they are to render an ac- 
count (Luke xix. 13—25; Matt. xxv. 14—31). Prudence 
itself appears to a man as _ his own, and is believed to be his 
own, so long as he keeps shut up within himself that most 
inveterate enemy of God and the Divine Providence, selflove, 
which dwells in the interiors of every man from his birth. If 
you do not know him,—for he desires not to be known,—he 
dwells securely, and guards the door, lest a man should open 
it, and he should thus be cast out by the Lord. That door 
is opened by a man, when, as if from himself, he shuns evils 
as sins, with an acknowledgment that he does so from the Lord. 
It is this prudence with which the Divine Providence acts as 
one. 
211. The reason why the Divine Providence operates so 
secretly, that scarcely any one knows that it exists, is, in order 
that a man may not perish; for a man’s proprium which is his 
will, never acts as one with the Divine Providence. A man’s 
proprium has an innate enmity against it; for it is that serpent 
which seduced our first parents, of which it is written, “I will 
put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed 
and her seed: it shall bruise thy head” (Gen. iii. 15). The 
serpent is evil of every kind: his head ig self-love: the seed of 
the woman is the Lord: the enmity is between a man’s self-love 
and the Lord, therefore also between a man’s self-derived pru- 
dence and the Lord’s Divine Providence; for self-derived pru 
dence is continually lifting up its head, and the Divine Provi- 
dence is continually keeping it down. If a man felt this, he 
would be enraged and exasperated against God, and would 
perish: but while he does not feel or perceive it, he may be 
enraged and exasperated against men, against himself, and 
likewise against fortune, and yet not perish. Hence it is, that 
the Lord by his Divine Providence continually leads a man in 
freedom, and being in freedom, it appears no otherwise to him 
than that he is led by his own proprium. To lead in freedom 
one who is in opposition to him that leads, is like raising from 
the earth a great resisting weight with pulleys, by which means 
the weight and resistance are not felt; or as, when any one is 
in the power of an enemy, whose intention is to put him to 
death, which he does not then know, and a friend contrives his 
escape through unknown ways, and afterwards discovers to him 
the enemy’s intention. 

212. Who does not talk of fortune, and who does not 

131 J 


212, 213 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


acknowledge it, because he talks of it, and because he knows 
something of it by experience? But who knows what it is? 
That it is something, because it is and exists, cannot be denied ; 
and nothing can be and exist without a cause; but the cause of 
this something or of fortune is not known. Yet lest it should 
be denied, merely from ignorance of that cause, take dice, or 
cards, and play with them, or consult players: which of them 
denies fortune? for they play with it, and it with them, in a 
wonderful manner. Who can oppose it, if it is obstinate ? 
Does it not in such case make a jest of prudence and wisdom? 
When you throw the dice and shufile the cards, does it not seem 
as if it knew and disposed the evolutions and motions of the 
hands, to favour one more than another, from some certain 
cause? Can this cause exist from any other source, than the 
Divine Providence in ultimates, where, by constant, and in- 
constant things, it deals wonderfully with human prudence, and 
at the same time conceals itself? That the Gentiles formerly 
acknowledged Fortune, and that those of Italy also built a tem- 
ple for her at Rome, is well known. Concerning this fortune, 
which is, as was said, the Divine Providence in ultimates, many 
things have been made known which it is not permitted me to 
reveal; and from which it was evinced to me, that it is not, an 
illusion of the mind, or a sporting of nature, or something with- 
out a cause, for that is not any thing; but that it is an ocular 
testification, that the Divine Providence is in the most minute 
particulars of a man’s thoughts and actions. When the Divine 
Providence operates in the smallest particulars of matters so 
mean and trifling, what must it not do in the particulars of things 
not mean and trifling, such as the affairs of peace and war upon 
earth, and those of salvation and everlasting life in heaven! 

213. But I know that human prudence brings over the 
rational faculty to take part with it, more than with the Divine 
Providence, because the latter does not appear, and the former 
does. It can be more easily conceded that there is one sole life, 
which is God, and that all men are recipients of life from him, 
as was abundantly shown before ; and this nevertheless amounts 
to the same thing, because prudence is of life. Who does not 
reason in favour of human prudence and nature, when he reasons 
from the natural or external man? Whereas, who does not 
reason in favour of the Divine Providence and of God, when he 
reasons from the spiritual or internal man? But write, I pray 
you, two books (I speak this to the natural man), one in favour 
of self-derived prudence, another in favour of nature, and fill 
them with plausible, probable, and likely arguments, such as in 
your opinion are solid; and when you have done, put them 
into the hand of any angel, and I know that there will be 
written under them these few words: They are all appearances 
and fallacies. 

182 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 214, 215 


THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE HAS RESPECT TO THINGS 
ETERNAL, AND NOT TO THINGS TEMPORARY, EXCEPT SO 
FAR AS THEY ACCORD WITH THINGS ETERNAT, 


214. Tar the Divine Providence has respect to things eter- 
nal, and not to things temporary, except so far as they accord 
with things eternal, or make one with them, is to be demon- 
strated in the following order :—I. That temporary things relate 
to dignities and riches, therefore to honours and emoluments, in 
this world. II. That eternal things relate to spiritual honours 
and riches, which are of love and wisdom, in heaven. IIT. 
That things temporary and eternal are separated by man, but 
joined by the Lord. IV. That the conjunction of things tem- 
porary and eternal is the Divine Providence of the Lord. 

215. Ll. That temporary things relate to dignities and riches, 
therefore to honours and emoluments, in this world. There are 
many temporary things, but yet they all relate to dignities and 
riches. By temporary things are meant those which either 
perish with time, or cease with a man’s life in this world only ; 
but by eternal things are meant those which do not perish and 
cease with time, therefore not with the life in this world. Since 
all temporary things, as was observed, have relation to dignities 
and riches, it is important that the following points should be 
understood ; namely, what and whence are dignities and riches : 
what is the nature of the love of them for their own sake, and 
What the nature of the love of them for the sake of use: that 
these two loves are distinct from each other, as hell is from 
heaven: that the difference between these loves is difficult to be 
known: but of each of these distinctly. First, What and 
whence are dignities and riches. Dignities and riches were 
totally different in the earliest ages from what they afterwards 
successively became. Dignities in the most ancient times were 
no other than such as exist among parents and their children, 
which were dignities of love, full of respect and veneration in 
the latter for the former, not because they received from them 
birth, but instruction and wisdom, which is a second birth, in 
itself spiritual, because it was the birth of their spirit. This 
was the only dignity in the earliest ages, because then nations, 
families, and houses dwelt separately, and were not formed into 
kingdoms as in the present day. It was the father of the family 
in whom that dignity resided. Those times were called by the 
ancients the golden age. After those times, however, the love 
of governing, from the sole delight of that love, successively 
crept in; and because enmity and hostility against those who 
would not submit arose at the same time, therefore nations, 
families, and houses assembled themselves together from neces- 
sity, and set over themselves one whom at first they called a 

judge, afterwards a prince, and lastly a king and an emperor. 
33 


O15 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


Then also they began to fortify themselves by towers, bulwarks, 
and walls. From the judge, prince, king, or emperor, as from 
the head into the body, a lust of dominion spread itself like a 
contagion among many, and thence arose degrees of dignities, 
with honours, conformable to them; and with them self-love, and 
the pride of self-derived prudence. The case was similar with 
regard to the love of riches. In the most ancient times, when 
nations and families dwelt distinctly from each other, there was 
no other love of riches than that ‘of possessing the necessaries 
of life, which they procured for themselves by flocks and herds, 
and by fields, pastures, and gardens, from which they derived 
subsistence. Among their necessaries of life were also reckoned 
decent houses, furnished with all kinds of utensils, and likewise 
clothing. The care and management of all these things was 
the business of the parents, children, men-servants, and maid- 
servants in the house. But after the love of dominion began to 
prevail, and destroyed this state of society, the love of possess- 
ing wealth beyond their necessities also invaded mankind, and 
erew to such a height as to produce a desire of possessing the 
wealth of all. These two loves are connected as it were by con- 
sanguinity ; for he who desires to rule over all things, desires 
also to possess all, that thus all persons may become his servants, 
and he their sole lord and master. This is plainly manifested 
among those of the popish religion, who have exalted their do- 
minion even into heaven, unto the throne of the Lord, upon 
which they have placed themselves, and who covet also the riches 
of the whole earth, and amass treasures without end. SECONDLY, 
What is the nature of the love of dignities and riches for ther 
own sake, and what the nature of the love of them For the sake 
of use. The love of dignities and honours for the sake of dig- 
nities and honours, is the iove of self, properly the love of do- 
minion arising from the love of self; and the love of riches and 
wealth, for the sake of riches and wealth, is the love of the world, 
properly the love of possessing the goods of others by any art 
whatever: but the love of dignities and riches for the sake of 
uses, is the love of uses, which is the same with the love of our 
neighbour ; for that for the sake of which a man acts, is the end 
which he has in view, and is first or primary, while other things 
are means, and are secondary. With respect to the love of dig- 
nities and honours for their own sakes, which is the same with self 
love, properly with the love of dominion from the love of self, it is 
the love of & man’s proprium, and a man’s proprium is all evil. 
Hence it is that a man is said to be born in all evil, and that his 
hereditary disposition is nothing but evil. A man’s hereditary 
disposition is his proprium, in which he is, and into which he 
comes by self-love, principally by the love of dominion grounded 
in the love of self; for the man who is principled in that love, 
has respect to nothing but himself, and so immerses his thoughts 
134 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCR. 915 


and affections into his proprium. [Hence it is that in the love 
of self there dwells a love of doing evil; the reason of which is, 
that the man does not love his neighbour, but himself only ; and 
he who loves himself alone, sees others as without himself, or as 
vile, or of no account, and despises them in comparison with 
himself, whilst he makes light of doing them mischief. It is 
from this cause that he who is in the love of dominion from the 
love of self scruples not to defraud his neighbour, to commit 
adultery with his neighbour’s wife, to slander him, to breathe 
revenge against him even unto death, to treat him cruelly, and 
the like. A man derives such evil dispositions from this circum- 
stance, that the devil himself, with whom every one principled 
in self-love is conjoined, and by whom he is led, is nothing else 
than the love of dominion from the love of self; and he who is 
led of the devil, that is, of hell, is led into all the above evils, 
and is continually led by the delights of those evils. Hence it 
is, that all who are in hell have a desire to do mischief to every 
one; but those who are in heaven have a desire to do good to 
every one. From this opposition exists that middle state, in 
which a man is placed, and in which he is as it were in an equi- 
librium, so that he can turn himself either to hell or to heaven ; 
and in proportion as he favours the evils of self-love, he turns 
himself to hell, and in proportion as he removes those evils 
from himself, he turns himself to heaven. It has been granted 
me to feel of what kind and how great is the delight of the love 
of dominion from the love of self. I was let into it in order 
that I might know it; and it was such, that it exceeded all the 
delights in the world. It was a delight of the whole mind from 
its inmost to its ultimate faculties, but was only felt in the body 
as a certain pleasure and gladness swelling in the breast. It 
was also granted me to perceive, that from this delight, as from 
their fountain, flow the delights of all evils, as adultery, revenge, 
fraud, blasphemy, and every thing that is wicked in general. 
There is a similar delight also in the love of possessing the 
wealth of others by any art whatever, and in the concupiscences 
which are derivations from it; but yet not in the same degree, 
unless it be joined to the love of self With respect to dignities 
and riches, however, that are loved not for their own sake, but 
for the sake of uses, such love is not the love of dignities and 
riches, but the love of uses, to which dignities and riches are 
subservient as means; and this love js celestial: but of it more 
in what follows. Tumpry, Zhat those two loves are distinct 
Srom each other as heaven and hell, is evident from what has 
now been said; to which I will add, that all those who are in the 
love of dominion from the love of self, whoever they be, whether 
great or small, are in hell as to their spirit; and that all who 
are in that love, are in the love of all evils, which if they do not 
commit, they still in their spirit think them allowable, and 
135 


215 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


therefore do them in the body, when the consideration of dig- 
nity and honour, and the fear of the law, do not prevent. And 
what is more, the love of dominion from the love of self conceals 
deeply within it hatred against God, consequently against the 
divine things of the church, and especially against the Lord. 
If persons influenced by this love acknowledge a God, they do 
it only with their mouths; and if they acknowledge the divine 
things of the church, they do it only for fear of losing credit. 
The reason why this love inmostly conceals in it hatred against 
the Lord, is, because it is the inmost tendency of it to desire 
to be a god, for it worships and adores itself alone; hence it is, 
that if any one honours it so much as to say that it has divine 
wisdom, and is the deity of the world, it loves such a one in its 
heart. Itis otherwise with the love of dignities and riches for 
the sake of uses; for this love is celestial, because, as has been 
observed, it is the same with the love of our neighbour. By uses 
are meant goods, and therefore by performing uses, is meant 
doing good; and by doing uses or good, is meant serving others 
and ministering to them. ‘Those who do so, although they are 
in dignity and opulence, yet respect such dignity and opulence 
only as means of performing uses, consequently of serving and 
ministering. These are those who are meant by these words of 
the Lord: ‘* Whosoever will be great among you, let him be 
your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him 
be your servant” (Matt. xx. 26,27). These also are those to 
whom dominion in heaven is entrusted by the Lord; for to 
them dominion is the means of performing uses, or doing good, 
consequently of serving; and when uses or good are the ends, 
or objects of the love, then it is not they who have dominion, 
but the Lord, for all good is from him. Fourrury, 7’hat the 
difference between them rs difficult to be known, is, because most 
of those who are in dignity and opulence also perform uses; but 
it is not known whether they perform them for the sake of them- 
selves, or for the sake of the uses; and the less so, because in 
the love of self and of the world, there is more of the fire and 
ardour of performing uses than in those who are not in the love 
of self and the world. The former, however, perform uses for 
the sake of fame or interest, therefore for the sake of them- 
selves; but those who perform uses for the sake of uses, or good 
for the sake of good, do not perform them from themselves, but 
from the Lord. The difference between them is difficult to be 
known by a man, because he does not know whether he is led 
by the devil or the Lord. He who is led by the devil, performs 
uses for the sake of himself and the world; but he who is led 
by the Lord, does it for the sake of the Lord and of heaven; 
and all those perform uses from the Lord who shun evils as sins, 
while all those perform uses from the devil who do not shun 
evils as sins; for evil is the devil, and use or good is the Lord. 
136 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 915—ZE7 


Hereby and no otherwise is the difference known. Both in 
their external form appear alike, but in their internal form they 
are totally unlike. One is like gold which contains within it 
dross ; the other is like gold which is within pure gold. One 
also is like artificial fruit, which in its external form appears 
like fruit gathered from a tree, when nevertheless it is coloured 
wax, which has within it dust or resin; the other is like excel- 
lent fruit, delightful to the taste and smell, which has within it 
seeds. 

216. Il. That eternal things relate to spiritual honours and 
riches, which are of love and wisdomin heaven. As the natural 
man calls the delights of self-love, which are also the delights 
of the concupiscences of evil, goods, and also confirms himself 
in the notion that they are goods, he therefore calls honours 
and riches divine blessings; but when this natural man sees 
that the wicked, as well as the good, are advanced to honours 
and promoted to riches, and still more when he sees that the 
good are in contempt and poverty, and the wicked in glory 
and opulence, he thinks within himself, What is the meaning 
of this? It cannot be of the Divine Providence, for if the 
Divine Providence governed all things, it would load the good 
with honours and wealth, and afilict the wicked with poverty 
and contempt, and thus compel the wicked to acknowledge that 
there is a God and a Divine Providence. But the natural man, 
unless illuminated by the spiritual man, that is, unless he is at 
the same time spiritual, does not see that honours and riches 
may possibly be blessings, and that possibly also they may be 
curses; or, that when they are blessings they are from God, 
and when they are curses they are from the devil. That honours 
and wealth are also given by the devil is known, for thénce he 
is called the prince of this world. Now since it is not known 
when honours and riches are blessings, and when they are curses, 
it shall therefore be shown, in this order: 1. That honours and 
riches are blessings, and that they are curses. 2. That honours 
and riches, when they are blessings, are spiritual and eternal ; 
and that when they are curses, they are temporary and perish- 
ing. 3. That the honours and riches which are curses, in com- 
parison with those which are blessings, are as nothing to every 
thing, or as that which does not exist in itself, to that which 
does exist in itself. 

217. These three points are now to be separately illustrated. 
First, Zhat honours and riches are blessings, and that they are 
curses. Common experience testifies, that the pious as well as 
the impious, or the just as well as the unjust, that is, the good 
as well as the evil, are in dignities and riches; yet it cannot be 
denied by any one, that the impious and unjust, that is, the 
wicked, go to hell, and the pious and just, that is, the good, 
to RTC This being true, it follows, that dignities and riches, 

13 


217 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


or honours and wealth, are either blessings or curses ; and that 
with the good they are blessings, and with the wicked curses. In 
the work concerning Heaven anp Het, published in London 
in the year 1758, n. 357—365, it is shown, that in heaven and 
also in hell there are rich as well as poor, and great as well as 
little; from which it is evident, that dignities and riches, with 
those who are in heaven, were in this world blessings, and, 
with those who are in hell, were in this world curses. But 
whence it is that they are blessings, and whence that they are 
curses, every one may know, if he thinks a little on the subject 
from reason; namely, that they are blessings with those who 
do not place their hearts in them, and that they are curses with 
those who do place their hearts in them. To place the heart in 
them, is to love self in them; and not to place the heart in 
them, is to love uses and not self in them. The nature and 
quality of the difference between these two loves, was explained 
above, n. 215; to which may be added, that dignities and 
wealth seduce some, and do not seduce others. They seduce, 
when they excite the loves of a man’s proprium, which is the 
love of self; and that this is the love of hell, which is called the 
devil, was also shown above; but they do not seduce, when they 
do not excite that love. The reason why the wicked as well as 
the good are advanced to honours and promoted to wealth, is, 
because the wicked as well as the good perform uses; but the 
wicked do so for the sake of the honour and interest of their 
own persons, and the good for the sake of the honour and 
interest of the thing itself. The latter respect the honour and 
interest of the thing itself as principal causes, and the honour 
and interest of their own persons as instrumental causes; but 
the wicked respect the honour and interest of their own persons 
as principal causes, and the honour and interest of the thing 
itself as instrumental causes. Yet who does not see, that the 
person, his function, and honour, are for the sake of the office 
which he administers, and not the contrary? Who does not 
see that a judge is for the sake of justice, a magistrate for the 
sake of the community, and a king for the sake of the king- 
dom, and not «ice versa? Therefore also, according to the 
laws of a kingdom, every one is in dignity and honour suitable 
to the dignity of his office and the functions belonging to it; 
and there is a difference between them like that which exists 
between what is principal and what is instrumental. He who 
attributes the honour of his office to himself, or to his own per- 
son, appears in the spiritual world, when the same is repre- 
sented, like a man with his body inverted, having his feet 
upward, and his head downward. Srconpiy, That dignities 
and riches, when they are blessings, are spiritual and eternal, and 
when they are curses, are temporary and perishing. There are 
dignities and riches in heaven as well as in this world ; for there 
138 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. pL of f 


are governments there, consequently administrations and func- 
tions, and there are also commercial dealings, consequently 
riches, because there are societies and communities. The uni- 
versal heaven is distinguished into two kingdoms, one of which 
is called the celestial, the other the spiritual kingdom, and each 
kingdom into innumerable societies, greater and smaller, all 
which, and all in which, are disposed in order according to the 
differences of love and the wisdom therefrom derived ; the so- 
cieties of the celestial kingdom according to the differences of 
celestial love, which is love to the Lord; and the societies of 
the spiritual kingdom according to the differences of spiritual 
love, which is love towards their neighbour. As there are such 
societies, and all who compose them have been men in the 
world, consequently retain in them the loves in which they were 
principled in, the world,—with this difference, that in another 
world they are spiritual, and that the dignities and riches them- 
selves are spiritual in the spiritual kingdom, and celestial in the 
celestial kingdom,—it follows as a consequence, that those who 
have greater love and wisdom than others, have greater dig- 
nities and riches than others, and these are those to whom 
dignities and riches were blessings in this world. Hence may 
appear, what is the nature of spiritual dignities and riches, 
namely, that they belong to the thing and not to the person. 
Persons, indeed, who are in dignity in heaven, are in magnifi- 
cence and glory, like that of kings upon earth; but yet they do 
not regard the dignity itself as any thing, but the uses, in the 
exercise and administration of which they are engaged. They 
receive every one the honours of his dignity, but they do not 
attribute them to themselves, but to the uses: and as all uses 
are from the Lord, they attribute them to the Lord, from whom 
they are derived. Such therefore are spiritual dignities and - 
riches, which are eternal. But it is otherwise with those to 
whom dignities and riches in this world were curses. These, 
since they attributed them to themselves, and not to uses, and 
since they did not desire that uses should govern them, but that 
they should govern uses, which they only regarded as such so 
far as they were subservient to their own honour and glory, are 
therefore in hell, where they are vile drudges in contempt and 
misery ; for which reason, as these dignities and riches perish, 
they are called temporary and perishing. Concerning both the 
latter and the former the Lord teaches as follows: “ Lay not up 
for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust cor- 
rupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up 
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust 
doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal . 
for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” 
(Matt. vi. 19, 20, 21). Turrpty, Zhat dignities and riches 
which are curses, compared with those which are blessings, wre as 
1 


217—219 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


nothing to every thing, or as that which does not exist in itself, to 
that whach does exist in ttself. Every thing which perishes and 
becomes nothing is inwardly in itself nothing : outwardly indeed 
it is something, and even appears to be much, and to some 
every thing, so long as it lasts, but in itself it is not. It is like 
a surface within which there is not any thing; or like a theatri- 
cal performer who appears in a king’s apparel only till the play 
is ended. But that which remains to eternity is in itself some- 
thing perpetually, therefore every thing; and moreover It Is, 
because it does not cease to be. 

218. Il. Zhat things temporary and eternal are separated 
by man, but are joined by the Lord. The reason of this is, that 
all things appertaining to a man are temporary, from which 
circumstance a man may be called temporary ; and all things 
appertaining to the Lord are eternal, whence the Lord is 
called eternal. Temporary things are those which have an end 
and perish, but eternal things are those which have no end, and 
do not perish. That these two cannot be joined together, except 
by the infinite wisdom of the Lord, therefore that they can be 
joined together by the Lord, and not by man, every one can 
see. But that it may be known, that these two are separated 
by a man, and joined by the Lord, it shall be demonstrated in 
the following order. 1. What are temporary things and what 
eternal things. 2. That a man is in himself temporary and the 
Lord is in himself eternal; that therefore nothing can proceed 
from a man but what is temporary, and nothing from the Lord 
but what is eternal. 3. That temporary things separate from 
themselves eternal things, and that eternal things join to them- 
selves temporary things. 4. That the Lord joins a man to him- 
self by appearances. 5. And by correspondences. 

219. These propositions are severally to be illustrated and 
confirmed by themselves. First, What are temporary things, 
and what eternal things. Temporary things are all those which 
are proper to nature, and thence proper to a man. Things 
proper to nature are especially spaces and times, both subject 
to limit and termination; and the things which are thence 
proper to a man, are those of his proper will and his proper 
understanding, which are thence of his affection and thought, 
especially the things which are of his own prudence; which 
things, it is well known, are finite and limited. But things 
eternal are all things which are proper to the Lord, and from 
him are as it were proper toaman. ‘Things proper to the Lord 
are all infinite and eternal, therefore without time, consequently 
without limit and without end. The things which are thence 
as it were proper to a man, are in like manner infinite and 
eternal; but nothing of these is of the man, but of the Lord 
alone in him. Sxconpiy, That a man is in himself temporary, 
and the Lord 7s in himself eternal ; that therefore nothing can 

140 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 219 


proceed from a man but what is temporary, and nothing from the 
Lord but what is eternal. That aman is in himself temporary, 
and the Lord in himself eternal, was stated above. Since nothing 
can proceed from any one but that which is in him, it follows, 
that nothing can proceed from aman but what is temporary, 
and nothing from the Lord but what is eternal ; for infinite can- 
not proceed from finite, and to suppose that it can is a con- 
tradiction ; nevertheless infinite can proceed from finite, yet 
not from finite itself, but from infinite through it. So, on the 
other hand, finite cannot proceed from infinite, and to suppose 
this is also acontradiction: yet finite can be produced by infinite, 
but this is not to proceed, but to be created; on which subject 
see Tnx Ancetic Wispom concerninc tue Divine Love ANp 
THE Divine Wispom, from beginning to end. ‘Therefore if 
finite proceeds from the Lord, as is the case in many things 
with a man, it does not proceed from the Lord, but from the 
man ; and it may be said to proceed from the Lord through the 
man, because it so appears. This may be illustrated by these 
words of the Lord: “ Let your communication be, Yea, yeas 
Nay, nay ; for whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil” 
(Matt. v. 87). Such is the communication of all in the third 
heaven; for they never reason concerning things divine, whether 
they be so or not, but see in themselves from the Lord, that 
they are so or not so. Reasoning concerning things divine, 
whether they be so or not, arises from the reasoner’s not seeing 
them from the Lord, but desiring to see them from himself ; 
and that which a man sees from himself is evil. But yet the 
Lord wills, not only that a man should think and speak of things 
divine, but also reason concerning them, to the end that he may 
see that they are so or not so; and such thought, discourse, or 
reasoning, provided it has for its end that he may see the truth,. 
may be said to be from the Lord in him; but it is from the man, 
until he sees truth, and acknowledges it. In the mean time 
it is from the Lord alone, that a man is capable of thinking, 
speaking, and reasoning; for this he can do by virtue of his 
two faculties called liberty and rationality, which he possesses 
from the Lord alone. Turvy, That temporary things sepa- 
rate trom themselves eternal things, and that eternal things youn 
to themselves temporary things. By temporary things separating 
from themselves eternal things, is meant, that a man who is 
temporary does so from the temporary things in himself; and 
by eternal things joining to themselves temporary things, is 
meant, that the Lord who is eternal, does so from the eternal 
things in himself, as was said above. In the preceding pages it 
was shown, that there is a conjunction of the Lord with a man, 
and a reciprocal conjunction of the man with the Lord; yet that 
the reciprocal conjunction of the man with the Lord is not from 


the man, but from the Lord; also that a man’s will is in oppo- 
141 


219, 220 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


sition to the Lord’s will, or, what amounts to the same, that a 
man’s self-derived prudence is in opposition to the Lord’s Divine 
Providence; from which considerations it follows, that a man, 
from his own temporary things, separates from himself the 
eternal things of the Lord, but that the Lord joins eternal things 
to the man’s temporary things, that is, joins himself to the man 
and the man to himself. As this subject has been fully treated 
of before, it is not necessary to add any further confirmation of 
it. Fourrury, That the Lord joins w man to himself by appear- 
ances; for it is an appearance that a man from himself loves 
his neighbour, does good, and speaks truth. If these things 
were not to appear to a man as from himself, he would not love 
his neighbour, or do good, or speak truth, therefore would not 
be conjoined to the Lord; but as love, good, and truth are from 
the Lord, it is evident that the Lord joins a man to himself by 
appearances. This appearance, however, and the conjunction 
of the Lord with a man, with the reciprocal conjunction of the 
man with the Lord thereby, are abundantly treated of above. 
Frerury, That the Lord joins aman to himself by correspondcnees. 
This is done by means of the Word, the literal sense of which 
consists of mere correspondences. That by that sense there is 
a conjunction of the Lord with a man, and a reciprocal con- 
junction of the man with the Lord, is shown in Tae Docrrine 
or THE Nrw JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, 
from beginning to end. | 
220. IV. That the conjunction of things temporary and 
eternal in a man is the Divine Providence of the Lord. As the 
subjects involved in this proposition cannot fall within the first 
perception of the understanding, except they be previously 
reduced to order, and unfolded and demonstrated according to 
it, therefore the arrangement of them shall be as follows. 1. 
That it is from the Divine Providence, that a man by death 
puts off things natural and temporary, and puts on things 
spiritual and eternal. 2. That the Lord by his Divine Pro- 
vidence joins himself to things natural by things spiritual, and 
to things temporary by things eternal, according to uses. 3. 
That the Lord joins himself to uses by correspondences, and so 
by appearances according to confirmations by aman. 4. That 
such conjunction of things temporary and eternal is the Divine 
Providence. But these points may be placed in a clearer light 
by explanations. First, Zhat it is from the Divine Providence, 
that a man by death puts off things natural and temporary, and 
puts on things spiritual and eternal. Things natural and tem- 
porary are extremes and ultimates (or the outermost and last or 
lowest things), into which a man first enters, which he does 
when he is born, to the end that he may afterwards be introduced 
into things interior and superior; for extremes and ultimates 
are the continents (or those which contain or keep the whole 
142 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 220 


together); and these exist in the natural world. Hence it is 
that no angel or spirit was immediately created such, but all 
were first born men, and so introduced: therefore, they have 
extremes and ultimates, which in themselves are fixed and 
stated, within which and by which their interiors can be retained 
in their state of connection. A man first puts on the grosser 
substances of nature, his body consisting of them; but these he 
puts off by death, and retains the purer substances of nature, 
which are next to what is spiritual, and which then are his con- 
tinents. Besides, in extremes or ultimates, are all things 
interior or superior together, as was shown before in its proper 
place ; therefore every operation of the Lord is from primary 
and ultimate things at once, consequently in full. But as the 
extremes and ultimates of nature cannot receive things spiritual 
and eternal, for which the human mind is formed, as they are 
in themselves, and yet a man is born that he may be made 
spiritual and live to eternity, therefore he puts them off, and 
retains only interior natural things, which are convenient, and 
accord with things spiritual and celestial, and serve them as 
continents. This is effected by the rejection of temporary and 
natural ultimates, which is the death of the body. Srconpry, 
Lhat the Lord by his Divine Providence joins himself to things 
natural by things spiritual, and to things temporary by things eter- 
nal, according to uses. Natural and temporary things are not 
only those which are proper to nature, but also those which are 
proper to men in the natural world. Both these a man puts off 
by death, and puts on things spiritual and eternal correspond- 
ing to them. That he puts on these according to uses, is 
fully shown in the foregoing pages. The natural things which 
are proper to nature, relate in general to time and space, and in 
particular to the objects which are seen upon earth. These a’ 
man relinquishes by death, and in place of them receives things 
spiritual, which are similar as to their outward aspect or appear- 
ance, but not as to their internal quality and essence; which 
subject also is treated of above. The temporary things which 
are proper to men in the natural world, relate in general to dig- 
nities and riches, and in particular to the necessities of each in- 
dividual, which are food, clothing, and habitation. These also 
are put away and left by death, and those things put on and 
received which are similar to them as to their outward aspect or 
appearance, but not as to their internal quality and essence. 
All these derive their internal quality and essence from the uses 
of things temporary in the world; and uses are the goods which 
are called goods of charity. Hence it may appear, that to 
things natural and temporary the Lord by his Divine Provi- 
dence joins things spiritual and eternal, according to uses. 
Tumpry, That the Lord joins himself to uses by correspondences, 
and wv by appearances according to the confirmations of them by a 
43 


2?0 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


man. As this point cannot but seem obscure to those who have » 
not yet acquired a clear notion respecting the nature of cor- 
respondence and appearance, it must be illustrated by exam- 
ple and thus explained. All things in the Word are mere 
correspondences of things spiritual and celestial, and, because 
they are correspondences, they are also appearances ; that is, 
all things in the Word are divine goods of the divine love, and 
divine truths of the divine wisdom, which are naked in them- 
selves, but clothed in the literal sense of the Word; therefore 
they appear like a man invested with a garment corresponding 
to the state of his love and wisdom; from which it is evident 
that if a man confirms in himself appearances, it is just as if 
he were to believe that garments are men. Thus, appearances 
become fallacies. It is otherwise if a man searches after truths, 
and sees them in appearances. Now as all the uses, or truths 
and goods of charity, which a man does to his neighbour, he 
does either according to appearances or according to the truths 
themselves in the Word, if he establishes the confirmation of 
them in himself according to appearances, he is in fallacies, 
but if according to truths, he does as he ought to do. Hence 
it may appear, what is meant by the Lord’s joining himself to 
uses by correspondences, and so by appearances, according ‘to 
the confirmations of them by a man. Fourrany, Zhat such 
conjunction of things temporary and eternal is the Divine Pro- 
vedence. ‘That this may be presented to the understanding in 
some degree of light, it is expedient to illustrate it by two 
examples,—by one which concerns dignities and honours,and by 
another which concerns riches and possessions. Both these in 
their external form are natural and temporary, but in their 
mternal form spiritual and eternal. Dignities with their honours 
are natural and temporary, when a man has respect to himself 
personally in them, and not to the state and uses; for then he 
cannot but think interiorly with himself, that the state is for 
the sake of him, and not he for the state. He is like a king 
who thinks that his kingdom and all the people in it are for 
him, and not he for the kingdom and the people of which it 
consists. But the same dignities with their honours are spiritual 
and eternal, when a man considers himself personally as sub- 
servient to the state and to uses, and not them to him. If he 
does this, he is in the truth and in the essence of his dignity 
and honour, but if the other, then he is in correspondence and 
appearance, which if he confirms in himself, he is in fallacies, 
and no otherwise in conjunction with the Lord than as those 
who are in falsities and evils derived therefrom ; for fallacies are 
falsities with which evils join themselves. Such persons do 
indeed perform uses and do good; but it is from themselves, 
and not from the Lord; therefore, they put themselves in the 
place of the Lord. It is the same with regard to riches and 
144 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 220, 221 


possessions, which also are natural and temporary, as well as 
spiritual and eternal. Riches and possessions are natural and 
temporary with those who have respect to them alone, and to 
themselves in them, and in these two place all their pleasure 
and delight; but they are spiritual and eternal with those who 
have respect to good uses in them, and have in these an interior 
pleasure and delight. With the latter, the exterior pleasure and 
delight also is made spiritual, and the temporary is made eternal ; 
therefore also after death they dwell in heaven, and in palaces 
there, the utensils of which are resplendent with gold and pre- 
cious stones ; but these nevertheless they regard no otherwise 
than as externals deriving their splendour and transparency from 
internals, which are uses, and from them they have essential 
pleasure and delight, which in themselves are the bliss and hap- 
piness of heaven. A contrary lot falls to those who have had 
respect to riches and possessions solely for their own sake and 
for the sake of self, therefore for the sake of externals and not 
at the same time of internals, consequently according to appear- 
ances and not according to their essences. Such persons, when 
they put off these things, as is the case when they die, put on 
the internals thereof, which, since they are not spiritual, cannot 
be otherwise than infernal; for either the one or the other prin- 
ciple is in them, as both cannot be there together. Hence, 
instead of riches they experience poverty, and, instead of pos- 
sessions, misery. By uses are meant, not only the necessaries 
of life, which relate to food, clothing, and habitation for a man 
and his family, but also the good of his country, of society, 
and of his fellow-citizens. Such a good is commerce, when the 
love of it is the end, and that of money the means subservient, 
provided the merchant shuns and avoids frauds and evil arts as 
sins; but not so when the love of money is the end, and that 
of commerce the means subservient to it; for this is avarice, 
which is the root of all evils, as may be seen in Luke xii. 15, 
and the parable concerning it, verse 16—21. 


THAT A MAN IS NOT ADMITTED INTERIORLY INTO THE TRUTHS 
OF FAITH AND THE GOODS OF CHARITY, EXCEPT SO FAR AS 
HE CAN BE KEPT IN THEM TO THE END OF LIFE. 


221. Iv is well known in the Christian world, that the Lord 
wills the salvation of all, and also that he is omnipotent; there- 
fore many thence conclude, that he is able to save every one, 


and does save those who implore his mercy, especially those 
145 


221, 222 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


who implore it by the received form of faith,—that God the 
Father would have mercy for the sake of his Son,—particularly 
if, at the same time, they pray that they may receive that faith. 
That the case is altogether different, however, will be seen in 
the last article of this treatise, where it will be explained, that 
the Lord cannot act against the laws of his Divine Providence, 
because to act against them would be to act against his divine 
love and his divine wisdom, consequently against himself; and 
where also it will be seen, that such immediate mercy is not 
possible, because man’s salvation is effected by means, according 
to which no one can lead a man, but He who wills the salvation 
of all, and is, at the same time, omnipotent, consequently the 
Lord. The means by which a man is led by the Lord, are what 
are called the laws of the Divine Providence, among which is 
this, that a man is not admitted interiorly into the truths of 
wisdom and the goods of love, except so far as he can be kept 
in them to the end of life. But that this may be evident to 
reason, it shall be explained in the following order. I. That a 
man may be admitted into the wisdom of spiritual things, and 
also into the love of them, and yet not be reformed. If. That 
if a man afterwards recedes from them, and runs counter to’ 
them, he profanes what is sacred. III. That there are several 
kinds of profanation, but that this kind is the worst of all. 
IV. That therefore the Lord does not admit a man interiorly 
into the truths of wisdom, and at the same time into the goods 
of love, except so far as he can be kept in them to the end 
of life. 

222. I. That a man may be admitted into the wisdom 7 
spiritual things, and also into the love of them, and yet not be 
reformed. The reason is, because a man has rationality and 
liberty. By rationality he can be elevated into wisdom almost 
angelic, and by liberty into a love not unlike angelic love; 
nevertheless, such as is the love, such is the wisdom: if the 
love is celestial and spiritual, the wisdom also becomes celestial 
and spiritual ; but if the love is diabolical and infernal, the wis- 
dom also is diabolical and infernal. The latter, indeed, may 
then appear in its external form, and consequently before others, 
as celestial and spiritual; but in its internal form, which is its 
very essence, it is diabolical and infernal, not outwardly but 
inwardly. That it is such, does not appear to men, because 
they are natural, and see and hear naturally, and the external 
form is natural; but it does so appear to angels, because they 
are spiritual, and the internal form is spiritual. Hence it is 
evident, that a man might be admitted into the wisdom of 
spiritual things, and also into the love of them, and yet not be 
reformed; but in this case only into the natural, and not into 
the spiritual love of them. The reason is, because a man can 
admit himself into natural love, but the Lord alone can admit 

146 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 999-994. 


him into spiritual love; and those who are admitted into the 
latter are reformed, but those who are only admitted into the 
former are not reformed; for these last are for the most part 
hypocrites, and many of them of the order of Jesuits, who 
interiorly do not believe any thing divine, but exteriorly play 
with divine things after the manner of soothsayers. 

223. By much experience in the spiritual world it has been 
made known to me, that a man possesses in himself the faculty 
of understanding the arcana of wisdom, like the angels them- 
selves; for I have seen fiery devils, who, when they heard arcana 
of wisdom, not only understood them, but also spoke them 
from their own rationality : as soon however as they returned to 
their diabolical love, they did not understand them, but instead 
of them things contrary thereto, which were insanities, and 
which they then called wisdom. It has even been permitted 
me to hear that when they were in a state of wisdom, they 
laughed at their own insanity, and when they were in a state of 
insanity, they laughed at wisdom. A man who has been such 
in this world, when after death he becomes a spirit, is generally 
admitted into alternate states of wisdom and insanity, that he 
may distinguish the one from the other. But although from 
wisdom they see their insanity, yet when their option is given 
them, as it is to every one, they put themselves into a state of 
insanity, love it, and then hate a state of wisdom: the reason 
of which is, that their internal was diabolical, and their external 
as if it were divine. These are those who are meant by devils 
who pretend to be angels of light; and by him, who at the mar- 
riage had not on a wedding garment, and was cast into outer 
darkness, Matt. xxii. 11, 128 1S: 

224. Who cannot see, that it is the internal from which the 
external exists; consequently, that the latter has its essence 
from the former? And who does not know by experience, that 
the external is able to appear otherwise than according to its 
essence from the internal? This is manifestly the case with 
hypocrites, flatterers, and dissemblers. And that aman can 
assume a character not his own in externals, is evident from 
players and mimics; for they can represent kings, emperors, 
and even angels, in their tone of voice, speech, face, and ges- 
ture, as though they were really such; when nevertheless they 
are nothing but imitators. These observations are made, be- 
cause a man in a similar manner can act the sycophant in mat- 
ters of a civil and moral nature as in those of a spiritual nature ; 
and it is well known, also, that many do so. As, therefore, 
the internal in its essence is infernal, and the external in its 
form appears spiritual, when nevertheless the external derives 
its essence from the internal, as before observed, it may be 
asked where that essence lies concealed in the external. It does 
not appear in the gesture, in the tone of voice, in the speech, 

147 K 


994-996 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING. 


or in the face; but yet it lies concealed interiorly in all the four 
That it lies interiorly concealed in them, is evident from the 
case of such persons in the spiritual world; for when a man 
goes out of the natural into the spiritual world, which he does 
when he dies, he leaves his externals with his body, and retains 
his internals which he had treasured up in his spirit; and then, 
if his internal was infernal, he appears a devil, such also as he 
had been as to his spirit when he lived in the world. Who does 
not acknowledge, that every man leaves externals with his body, 
and enters into internals when he becomes a spirit? To this I 
may add, that in the spiritual world there is a communication 
between the affections and the thoughts derived from them, 
whence no one can speak otherwise than as he thinks ; also, 
that every one there changes his face, and becomes like his 
affection, so that it is apparent what he is from his face also. 
Hypocrites are sometimes permitted to speak otherwise than as 
they think; but the sound of their voice is altogether discordant 
to the interiors of their thoughts, and from such discordance 
they are discovered. Hence it may appear, that the internal 
lies concealed interiorly in the tone, speech, face, and external 
gesture; and that this is not perceived by men in the natural 
world, but manifestly by angels in the spiritual world. , 

225. From these considerations, then, it is evident, that 
a man, so long as he lives in the natural world, can be admit- 
ted into the wisdom of spiritual things, and also into the love 
of them; and that this may and can be done, with those who 
are merely natural, as well as with those who are spiritual; yet 
with this difference, that the latter are reformed by them, 
but the former are not. It may also appear as if the merely 
natural loved wisdom; but they love it no otherwise than as 
an adulterer loves a noble courtesan, with whom he speaks 
flatteringly, to whom he presents rich garments, and of whom, 
nevertheless, he thinks with himself at home, that she is nothing 
but a vile whore, whom I will make believe that I love her, 
because she favours my lust; but if she does not favour it, I will 
reject her. His internal man is this adulterer, and his external 
man is this woman. 

226. Il. Zhat if a man afterwards recedes from them, and 
runs counter to them, he profanes what is holy. There are 
several kinds of profanation of what is holy, which will be 
noticed in the following article: but this kind is the most griey- 
ous of all; for those who are profaners of this kind, become after 
death no longer men. They live indeed, but continually in a 
fantastical delirium, and appearing to themselves to be flying 
on high, and when they are still they play with fantasies, which 
seem to them as things real; and as they are no longer men, 
they are not called he and she, but it: even when they are seen 
in the light of heaven, they appear like skeletons, some like 

148 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 226, 22°7 


skeletons of a bony colour, some fiery, and some dry. That those 
who are guilty of this kind of profanation become such after 
death, is not known in the world; and it is not known because 
the cause of it is not known. The cause of it is, that when a 
man first acknowledges divine things, and believes them, and 
afterwards recedes and denies them, he then mixes holy with 
profane things; which, when mixed, cannot be separated other- 
wise than by the destruction of the whole. But that this may 
be more clearly perceived, it shall be explained in the following 
order: 1. That whatever a man thinks, speaks, and does from 
his will, is appropriated to him and remains,—as well good as 
evil. 2. That the Lord by his Divine Providence continually 
provides and disposes, that evil may be by itself, and good by 
itself, so that they may be separated. 3. That this cannot be 
done, if a man first acknowledges the truths of faith, and lives 
according to them, and afterwards recedes from and denies them. 
4, That he then mixes good and evil in such a manner that they 
cannot be separated. 5. And as good and evil with every man 
are to be separated, and in such a one cannot be separated, 
therefore he is destroyed as to every thing truly human. 

227. These are the causes why a thing so enormous exists; 
but as these causes are in obscurity from ignorance respecting 
them, they shall be explained, in order that they may be evident 
to the understanding. First, hat whatever aman thinks, speaks, 
and does from his will, is appropriated to him and remains, 
—as well good as evil. This was shown above, n. 78—81. 
For a man has an external or natural memory, and an internal 
or spiritual memory: in the latter is inscribed every thing that 
he had thought, spoken, and done from his will in the world, 
and that so perfectly as to every particular, that no one thing . 
is wanting. This memory is the book of his life, which after 
death is opened, and according to which he is judged. Con- 
cerning this memory more is adduced from my own experience, 
in the work On Heaven anv Hert, n. 461—465. Srconpiy, Lut 
that the Lord by his Divine Providence continually provides 
and disposes, that evil may be by itself, and good by rtself, so that 
they may be separated. Every man is both in evil and in good; 
for he is in evil from himself, and in good from the Lord: and 
he cannot live unless he is in both. For if he were in himself 
alone, and so in evil only, he would not have any life: nor if 
he were in the Lord alone, and so in good only, would he have 
any life; fora man in the latter kind of life would be as it were 
suffocated, continually gasping for breath, or like one in the 
agonies of death; and in the former kind of life he would be 
extinct, for evil without any good is in itself dead; therefore 
every man is in both. But the difference is, that one is in- 
teriorly in the Lord, and exteriorly as if in himself; while the 
other is interiorly in himself, but exteriorly as if in the Lord. 

149 


DAL ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


The latter is in evil, and the former in good, yet each is in both 
good and evil. The reason why this is also the case with a 
wicked man, is, because he is in the good of civil and moral 
life, and also exteriorly in some. good of spiritual life; and is 
kept besides in rationality and liberty by the Lord, in order that 
he may have the power of being in good: this is the good by 
which every man, even the wicked, is led of the Lord. From 
these considerations it may be seen, that the Lord separates evil 
and good, that the one may be interior and the other exterior, 
and so provides that they may not be mixed. Tutrpiy, But 
that this cannot be done, if a man jirst acknowledges the truths 
of faith, and lives according to them, and afterwards recedes and 
denies them. This is evident from what has now been said ; first, 
that every thing which a man thinks, speaks, and dges from the 
will, is appropriated to him and remains; and, secondly, that 
the Lord by his Divine Providence continually provides, and so 
disposes things, that good may be by itself, and evil by itself, 
and that they may be separated. Moreover, they are separated 
by the Lord after death: from those who are interiorly evil and 
exteriorly good, the good is taken away, and they are thus 
left in their evil; but the case is reversed with those who are 
interiorly good, and exteriorly like other men have acquired 
wealth, sought after dignities, been delighted with various 
worldly things, and have favoured some concupiscences ; for in 
these, nevertheless, good and evil are not mixed, but separate, 
as internal and external; thus in their external form they have 
been, in many respects, like the wicked, yet not in their internal 
form. So, also, on the other hand, in the wicked who, in their 
external form, have appeared like the good, in regard to piety, 
divine worship, words, and actions, and yet, in their internal 
form, have been wicked, the evil is separated from the good. 
But in those who have first acknowledged the truths of faith, 
and lived according to them, and afterwards have run counter, 
and rejected them, especially if they have denied them, goods 
and evils are no longer separated, but mixed together; for such 
aman has appropriated to himself good, and has also appro- 
priated to himself evil, and so has joimed and mixed them. 
Fourruty, That in this case he mixes good and evil in such 
a manner that they cannot be separated, follows from what 
has just now been said; and if evil cannot be separated from 
good, and good from evil, he can neither be in heaven nor in 
hell. Every man must be either in one or the other; he cannot 
be in both; for in that case he would be one while in heaven, 
and another while in hell; when in heaven he would act in fa- 
vour of hell, and when in hell he would act in favour of heaven, 
and so destroy the life of all who were about him,—the celestial 
life in the angels, and the infernal life in the devils,—whereby 
the life of every one would perish; for the life of every one must 
150 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 227, 228 


be his own, no one living in a life foreign to his own, still less 
in one that is opposite. Hence it is, that in every one after death, 
when he becomes a spirit or a spiritual man, the Lord separates 
good from evil and evil from good,—good from evil in those who 
are interiorly in evil, and evil from good in those who are interiorly 
in good; which is according to his own words: “ Whosoever 
hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance : 
but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even 
what he hath” (Matt. xiii.12; xxv.29; Mark iv. 95 ; Luke viii. 
18; xix. 26). Firruny, As good and evil in every man are to be 
separated, and in such a one cannot be separated, therefore he ts 
destroyed as to every thing truly human. What is truly human 
every one has from rationality, so that if he will, he can see 
and know what is true and what is good, and as was shown 
before, can also will, think, speak, and do good from liberty ; 
but this liberty with its rationality is destroyed in those who 
have mixed good and evil in themselves ; for they cannot from 
good see evil, or from evil know good, because they make one: 
they have therefore no longer the faculty or power of rationality, 
nor consequently have they any liberty. This is the reason 
why, as was said above, they are as mére fantastical delirious 
beings and no longer appear as men, but like bones covered 
with skin, and therefore when they are named, they are not 
called he or she, but it. Such is the lot of those who in this 
manner mix things holy with profane: but there are several 
kinds of profanation, which are not of this nature, to be noticed 
in the subsequent article. 

228. No man thus profanes things holy who does not know 
them ; for he who does not know them, cannot acknowledge 
them, and afterwards deny them: those therefore who are 
without the Christian world, and do not know any thing of the 
Lord, and of redemption and salvation by him, do not profane 
the holiness thereof, when they donot receive it, or even when 
they speak against it. Neither do the Jews themselves profane 
it ; because from their infancy they have refused to receive and 
acknowledge it. It would be otherwise if they received and 
acknowledged, and afterwards denied it, which however is very 
rare; for many of them acknowledge it exteriorly and deny it 
interiorly, being like hypocrites. Those however profane things 
holy, by mixing them with what is profane, who first receive 
and acknowledge them, and afterwards depart from them and 
deny them. Their receiving and acknowledging them in their 
infancy and childhood is of no account, for this all Christians 
do, because at that age they do not receive and acknowledge 
the things which are of faith and charity from any rationality 
and liberty, that is, in the understanding from the will, but 
only from memory and the authority of masters: and if they 
live according to them, it is out of blind obedience; but if, 

151 


998—230 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


when a man comes into the use of his rationality and hberty, 
which he does successively as he grows up, he then acknowledges 
truths and lives according to them, and afterwards denies them, 
he mixes things holy and profane, and instead of a man, becomes 
such a monster as was described above. If a man is in evil, 
however, from the time he becomes possessed of rationality 
and liberty, that is, from the time he begins to think for 
himself, even to the period of youth, and afterwards acknow- 
ledges the truths of faith and lives according to them, provided 
he then abides in them to his life’s end, he does not mix them ; 
for the Lord then separates the evils of his former life from the 
goods of his latter life: this is the case with all who repent. 
But of this more in what follows. 3 

929. Ill. That there are several kinds of profanation of what 
is holy, and that this kind is the worst of all. In the most 
common or general sense, by profanation is meant all impiety, 
therefore by profaners are meant all impious persons, who in 
their hearts deny God, the sanctity of the Word, and conse- 
quently the spiritual things of the church, which are sanctity 
itself, and concerning which they also speak impiously. Of 
such profaners, however, we are not here treating, but of those 
who profess to believe in God, who maintain the sanctity of the 
Word, and who acknowledge the spiritual things of the church, 
and yet do this for the most part with their mouths only. The 
reason why these are guilty of profanation, is, because what is 
holy from the Word is in and with them, and this, which is in 
them and which constitutes some part of their understanding 
and will, they profane; but in the impious, who deny the 
Divine Being and all things divine, there is nothing holy for 
them to profane. They are profaners indeed, but are not the 
profane. 

230. The profanation of what is holy is meant in the second 
commandment of the Decalogue, by, Tsou sHALT NOT PROFANE 
THE NAME oF THY Gop; and that it ought not to be profaned 
is meant in the Lord’s Prayer, by, Hatrowep Be Tuy Name. 
What is understood by the name of God, is scarcely known by 
any in the Christian world; the reason of which is, because it 
is not known that in the spiritual world there are not names 
as in the natural world, but that every one is named according 
to the quality of his love and wisdom; for as soon as any one 
comes into society or association with others, he is immediately 
named according to his quality there. He is named by spiritual 
language, which is such, that it can give a name to every thing, 
because each letter in its alphabet signifies a thing; and several 
letters joined into a word, which constitute the name of a person, 
include the entire state of the thing. This is one of the won- 
derful things in the spiritual world. Hence it is evident, that 
by the name of God in the Word is signitied God, with every 

152 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 230, 281 


thing divine which is in him, and proceeds from him; and as 
the Word is the proceeding divine, it is the name of God; as, 
likewise, all the divine things, which are called spiritual things 
of the church, are from the Word, they are also the name of 
God. rom these considerations it may be seen what is meant 
in the second commandment in the Decalogue by Thou shalt 
not profane the name of God, and in the Lord’s Prayer, by 
Lallowed be thy name. Similar is the signification of the name 
of God and of the Lord, in many places of the Word in both 
Testaments, as in Matt. vii. 22; x. 22; xviii. 5, 20; xix. ZY. 
xxl. 9; xxiv. 9, 10; John i. 12; ii. 23; iii. 17, 18; xii. 13, 
28; xiv. 14, 15, 16; xvi. 28, 24, 26, 27; xvii. 6; xx. 31; 
besides other places, and very many in the Old Testament. 
He who knows this signification of name, may know what is 
signified by these words of the Lord: “He that receiveth a 
prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s 
reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of 
a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward; and 
whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup 
of cold water only in the name of a disciple, he shall in no wise 
lose his reward” (Matt. x. 41). He who, by the name of a 
prophet, a righteous man, and a disciple, here understands only 
a prophet, a righteous man, and a discipie, does not understand 
any other than barely the literal sense, nor does he know what 
is the reward of a prophet, the reward of a just man, and the 
reward of a cup of cold water given to a disciple, when, never- 
theless, by the name and the reward of a prophet is meant the 
state and felicity of those who are in divine truths; by the name 
and the reward ofa righteous man, the state and felicity of those 
who are in divine goods; and by a disciple, those who are in 
some spiritual things of the church, a cup of cold water being 
something of truth. That the quality of the state of love and 
wisdom, or of goodness and truth, is signified by name, is also 
evident from these words of the Lord: “He that entereth in 
by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter 
openeth ; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own 
sheep by name, and leadeth them out” (John x. 2, 3). To call 
his sheep by name, is to teach and lead every one who is in the 
good of charity, according to the state of his love and wisdom. 
by the door is meant the Lord, as is evident from verse 9th of 
the same chapter; “I am the door: by me if any man enter 
in, he shall be saved.” From which it is evident, that the 
Lord himself is to be approached, in order that any one may be 
saved; and that he who approaches him is the shepherd of the 
Sheep ; but he who does not approach him is a thief and a rob- 
ber, as it is said in the first verse of that chapter. 

231. Since by the profanation of what is holy is meant pro- 
aation by those who are acquainted with the truths of faith 

53 


931 _ ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and the goods of charity from the Word, and also in scme 
measure acknowledge them, and not by those who are not 
acquainted with them, or by those who from impiety entirely 
reject them; therefore what follows is said not of the latter, 
but of the former. The kinds of profanation by these are 
several, some lighter and some more grievous than others: but 
they may be referred to these seven. THE Firsr KIND OF PRO- 
FANATION IS COMMITTED BY THOSE who jest from the Word, and 
concerning the Word, or from and concerning the divine things 
of the church. This is done by some persons from a bad habit, 
by taking names or forms of speech out of the Word, and in- 
troducing them into unseemly and sometimes filthy discourse ; 
which cannot but be connected in some degree with a contempt 
of the Word. Yet the Word in the whole and in every par- 
ticular is divine and holy; for every Word thereof contains in 
its bosom something divine, by which it has communication 
with heaven. This kind of profanation however is lighter, or 
more grievous, in proportion to the acknowledgment of the 
sanctity of the Word, and the indecency of the discourse into 
which it is introduced by those who make a jest of it. A sEconp 
KIND OF PROFANATION IS COMMITTED BY THOSE who wnderstand 
and acknowledge divine truths, and yet live contrary to them. 
Those however profane them more lightly who only understand 
them, while those who acknowledge them also profane them 
more grievously ; for the understanding only teaches, much in 
the same manner as a preacher teaches, and does not conjoin 
itself with the will from itself; but acknowledgment conjoins 
itself; for nothing can be acknowledged without the consent of 
the will. Nevertheless, this conjunction is various, and the 
profanation is according to the conjunction, when the life is 
contrary to the truths which are acknowledged. For example, 
if any one acknowledges that revenge and hatred, adultery and 
fornication, fraud and deceit, blasphemy and lies, are sins against 
God, and yet commits them, such a one is in the more grievous 
degree of this kind of profanation; for the Lord says, ‘The 
servant that knew his Lord’s will, and did not according to his 
will, shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke xii. 47). And 
in another place, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; 
but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 
ix. 41). But it is one thing to acknowledge appearances of 
truth, and another to acknowledge genuine truths. Those who 
acknowledge genuine truths, and yet do not live according to 
them, appear in the spiritual world without the light and heat 
of life in the tone of their voice and speech, as if they were 
mere sloths. A THIRD KIND OF PROFANATION IS COMMITTED 
BY THOSE who apply the literal sense of the Word to confirm evil 
loves and false principles. The reason of this is, because a con- 
firmation of what is false is a negation of the truth, and a 
154 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 231 


confirmation of evil is a rejection of good. The Word contains 
in its bosom nothing but divine truth and divine good; and this 
in the ultimate sense, which is the literal sense, does not appear 
in genuine truths, except where it teaches concerning the Lord 
and the essential way of salvation, but in truths clothed, which 
are called appearances of truth; therefore this sense may be 
wrested to confirm heresies of many kinds. But he who con- 
firms evil loves, offers violence to divine goods; and he who con- 
firms false principles, offers violence to divine truths. This latter 
violence is called the falsification of truth; the former, the 
adulteration of good. They are both understood by bloods in 
the Word; for the spiritual holiness, which is also the spirit of 
truth proceeding from the Lord, is interiorly in every particu- 
lar of the literal sense of the Word; and this holiness is violated 
when the Word is falsified and adulterated. That this is profa- 
nation is evident. A FOURTH KIND OF PROFANATION IS COMMITTED 
By THOSE Who with their mouths speak things pious and holy, 
and also in their tone of voice and gesture counterfeit affections 
of the love of such things, yet in their hearts do not believe and 
love them. Most of these are hypocrites and Pharisees, from 
whom after death every truth and good is taken away, and 
then they are sent into outer darkness. Of this kind, those 
who have confirmed themselves against what is divine, and 
against the Word, thence also against the spiritual things of 
the Word, sit silent in that darkness, impotent of speech, and 
desirous to babble about things pious and holy, as they did in 
the world, but they are not able; for in the spiritual world 
every one is forced to speak as he thinks, and a hypocrite wishes 
to speak otherwise than as he thinks, consequently there is an 
opposition in the mouth, by reason of which he can only mut- 
ter. Hypocrites, nevertheless, are lighter or more grievous, ac- 
cording to confirmations against God, and reasonings exteriorly 
in favour of God. A FIFTH KIND OF PROFANATION IS COMMITTED BY 
THOSE who attribute to themselves things divine. These are 
those who are meant by Lucifer in Isaiah xiv. By Lucifer is 
there meant Babel, as may appear from the 4th and 22d verses 
of that chapter, where also their lot is described. The same are 
e likewise meant and described by the whore sitting upon the 
scarlet coloured beast, in Revelation xvii. Babel and Chaldea 
are mentioned in many parts of the Word: by Babel is there 
meant the profanation of good, and by Chaldea the profanation 
of truth, both in those who attribute to themselves things 
divine. A SIXTH KIND OF PROFANATION IS COMMITTED BY 
THOSE who acknowledge the Word, and yet deny the Lord’s 
dwinity. These are called in the world Socinians, and some of 
them Arians: the lot of both these is, that they invoke the 
Father, and not the Lord; and continually pray the Father, 
some of them also for the sake of the Son, that they may be 
155 


231. ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


admitted into heaven, but in vain, until they become without 
hope of salvation; and they are then let down into hell among 
those who deny God. These are meant by those who blaspheme 
the Holy Ghost, who will not be forgiven either in this world, 
or in that which is to come (Matt. xu. 32). The reason of this 
is, because God is one in person and in essence, in whom there 
is the trinity, and this God is the Lord; and as the Lord is also 
heaven, and consequently those who are in heaven are in the 
Lord, therefore those who deny the Lord’s divinity cannot be 
admitted into heaven, and be in the Lord. That the Lord is 
heaven, and that consequently those who are in heaven are in 
the Lord, was shown above. A SEVENTH KIND OF PROFANATION 
IS COMMITTED BY THOSE who first acknowledge divine truths, and 
live according to them, and afterwards recede and deny them. 
This is the worst kind of profanation, because such persons mix 
things holy and profane in such a manner that they cannot be 
separated, and yet in order to their admission into either heaven 
or hell, they must be separated; and as in such persons this 
cannot be effected, all the intellectual and voluntary human 
faculty is destroyed, and, as was said before, they become no 
longer men. It is nearly the same with those who in their 
hearts acknowledge the divine things of the Word and the 
church, and entirely immerse them in their proprium, which is 
the love of having dominion over every thing, and respecting 
which much has been said above; for these after death, when 
they become spirits, will not be led by the Lord, but entirely by 
themselves: when their love is not restrained, they desire to rule 
not only over heaven, but also over the Lord; and because they 
cannot do so, they deny the Lord, and become devils. It is to 
be observed, that the life’s love, which is also the ruling love, 
remains in every one after death, and cannot be removed. The 
profane of this kind are meant by the lukewarm, of whom it is 
thus written in the Revelation: ‘‘ I know thy works, that thou 
art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So 
then because thou art neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out 
of my mouth” (iii. 15, 16). This kind of profanation is also 
thus described by the Lord in Matthew: ‘ When the unclean 
spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, 
seeking rest, but findeth none. Then he saith, I will return 
into the house from whence I came out; and when he is come, 
he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, 
and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than 
hinself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state 
of that man is worse than the first” (xii. 43, 45). The con- 
version of a man is here described by the unclean spirit’s going 
out of him; his returning to his former evils, after casting out 
things true and good, is described by the return of the unclean 
spirit with seven others more wicked than himself into the 
156 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 231, 232 


house, which he found garnished for him; and the profanation 
of what is holy by what is profane, is described by the last state 
of that man being worse than the first. The same is under- 
stood by the passage in John, where Jesus said to him that was 
healed in the pool of Bethesda, “‘ Sin no more, lest a worse thing 
come unto thee” (v. 14). That the Lord provides, that a 
man may not interiorly acknowledge truths, and afterwards 
recede from them and become profane, is meant by these words: 
‘“‘ He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that 
they should not see with their eyes, or understand with their 
heart, and be converted, and I should heal them” (John xii. 
40). Lest they should be converted and I should heal them, 
signifies, lest they should acknowledge truths and then recede, 
and so become profane. For the same reason the Lord spoke 
by parables, as he himself says (Matt. xii. 13). The Jews 
being forbid to eat fat and blood (Lev. ili. 175 vil. 23, 25), sig- 
nified that they were not to profane things holy ; for fat signified 
divine good, and blood divine truth. That a man being once 
converted ought to continue in good and truth to the end of his 
life, the Lord teaches in Matthew. Jesus said, ‘“‘He that 
endureth to the end shall be saved ” (x. 225 also in Mark xiii. 
13). 

939, IV. That therefore the Lord does not adit a man 
interiorly into the truths of wisdom, and at the same time into 
the goods of love, except so far as he can be kept in them to the 
end of life. In demonstrating this we must proceed distinctly, 
for two reasons; first, because it nearly concerns the salvation 
of mankind; secondly, because on a knowledge of this law 
depends a knowledge of the laws of permission, to be treated 
of in the following section. It nearly concerns the salvation of . 
mankind ; because, as was observed before, he who first acknow- 
ledges the divine things of the Word, and thence those of the 
church, and afterwards recedes from them, very grievously pro- 
fanes what is holy. Therefore that this arcanum of the Divine 
Providence may be disclosed in such a manner, that the rational 
man may see it in its true light, it shall be unfolded in the 
following series. 1. That evil and good cannot exist together 
in a man’s interiors, nor consequently the falsity of evil and 
the truth of good at the same time. 2. That good and the truth 
of good cannot be infused by the Lord into a man’s interiors 
except in proportion as evil and the falsity of evil is thence 
removed. 3. If good with its truth were infused there before, 
or in a greater degree than that in which evil with its falsity is 
removed, the man would recede from good and return to his evil. 
4. That when a man is in evil, many truths may be infused 
into his understanding, and treasured up in his memory, without 
being profaned. 5. But that the Lord by his Divine Providence 
most Ppewally provides, that they be not received thence by the 

oT 


232, 233 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


will, before or in greater proportion than that in which the man 
removes evils in the external man as if of himself. 6. That if 
they were received sooner, or in greater proportion, the will 
would adulterate the good, and the understanding would falsify 
the truth, by mixing them with evils and falsities. 7. That 
therefore the Lord does not admit a man interiorly into the 
truths of faith and the goods of love, except so far as he can be 
kept in them to the end of life. 

233. In order therefore that this arcanum of the Divine 
Providence may be disclosed in such a manner that the rational 
man may see it in his light, the things which have now been ad- 
duced shall be severally explained. First, Zhat evil and good 
cannot exist together in a mans interiors, nor consequently can 
the falsity of evil and the truth of good. By a man’s interiors 
is meant the internal of his thought, of which he does not know 
any thing before he comes into the spiritual world and its light, 
which is the case after death. In the natural world, this can 
only be known from the delight of his love in the external of 
his thought, and from evils themselves when he explores them in 
himself; for, as was shown above, the internal of thought in a 
man coheres with the external of thought in so close a connection, 
that they cannot be separated; but of this more may be seen 
above. Good and the truth of good, and evil and the falsity of 
evil, are mentioned, because good cannot exist without its truth 
nor evil without its falsity, they being connubial partners or 
consorts; for the life of good is from its truth, and the life of 
truth from its good: it 1s the same with evil and its falsity. 
That in a man’s interiors there cannot exist evil with its falsity 
and at the same time good with its truth, may be seen by the 
rational man without explanation; for evil is opposite to good, 
and good is opposite to evil, and two opposites cannot exist 
together. There is also in all evil an inherent hatred against 
good, and in all good an inherent love of defending itself against 
evil, and of removing the same from it; from which it follows, 
that the one cannot dwell with the other. If they were together, 
a conflict and combat would first arise, and destruction would 
follow ; which also the Lord teaches in these words: “ Every 
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and 
every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. He 
that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not 
with me scattereth abroad” (Matt. xii. 25,30); and in other 
places. No one can at the same time “ serve two masters; for 
either he will hate the one and love the other” (Matt. vi. 24). 
Two opposites cannot exist together in one substance or form, 
without its being distracted and perishing. Were one to advance 
and approach the other, they would separate themselves alto- 
gether like two enemies, of which one would retire within his 
camp or fortifications, and the other would remain without. 

158 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 233 


This is the case with evils and goods in a hypocrite, who possesses 
both; but evil is within, and good without, and thus they are 
separate and not mixed. rom these things it is plain, that evil 
with its falsity, and good with its truth, cannot exist together. 
Seconpiy, Zhat good and the truth of good cannot be infused by 
the Lord into a man’s interiors, except in proportion as evil and 
the falsity of evil rs thence removed. This is a necessary con- 
sequence of what precedes ; for since evil and good cannot exist 
together, good cannot be implanted before evil is removed. 
It is affirmed of a man’s interiors, by which is meant the in- 
ternal of thought; and in the interiors which are here treated 
of, either the Lord or the devil must dwell. The Lord is there 
after reformation, and the devil before it; therefore, in propor- 
tion as a man suffers himself to be reformed, the devil is cast 
out, but in proportion as he does not suffer himself to be reformed, 
the devil remains. Who may not see that the Lord cannot enter 
so long as the devil is there? and he is there so long as the man 
keeps the door closed by which he is brought into communication 
with the Lord. That the Lord enters, when the man opens 
that door, he himself teaches in the Revelation: “I stand at 
the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the 
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he 
with me” (il. 20). The door is opened by the man’s removing 
evil, which he does by shunning and avoiding it as infernal 
and diabolical; for whether it be called evil, or the devil, it 
is the same thing; and, on the other hand, whether you say 
good, or the Lord, it is the same thing; for the Lord dwells in- 
wardly in all good, and the devil in all evil. Hence the truth 
of this position is evident. Turtrpty, Jf good with its truth 
were infused before, or in a greater degree than that in which evil 
and its falsity 1s removed, the man would recede from good and 
return to his evil. The reason of this is, because evil would 
prevail; and that which prevails, conquers, if not at the time, 
yet afterwards. While evil continues to prevail, good cannot 
be introduced into the inmost apartments of the mind, but only 
into the outer courts, because, as was said, evil and good cannot 
exist together ; and that which is only in the outer courts is 
removed by its enemy which is in the inner apartments, whereby 
there is a recession from good and a return to evil, which is the 
worst kind of profanation. Besides, the very delight of a 
man’s life is to love himself and the world above all things ; 
and this delight cannot be removed in a moment, but must be 
done successively. According to the proportion of this delight 
which remains in a man is the prevalence of evil; and this evil 
can be removed no otherwise than by making the love of self 
to become the love of uses, and admitting the love of rule, not 
for the sake of self, but for the sake of being useful; for so 
uses arian the head, the love of self or the love of rule 
9 


933 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


at first constituting the body under that head, and afterwards 
the feet upon which he walks. Who does not see that good 
constitutes the head, and that when it constitutes the head, the 
Lord is there, good and use being one? Who does not see, 
that if evil constitutes the head, the devil is there; and that, 
as civil and moral good, and also spiritual good in its external 
form, are nevertheless to be received, these then constitute the 
feet, and the soles of the feet, and are trampled upon? Since, 
therefore, the state of a man’s life is to be inverted, so that 
what is above may be placed below, and this inversion cannot 
be effected in a moment (for that supreme delight of life, which 
proceeds from the love of self and thence of dominion, cannot 
be diminished except successively, and so changed into the love 
of uses), for this reason good cannot be introduced by the Lord 
before or in a greater degree than that in which evil is removed; 
and if it were infused sooner, or in greater quantity, the man 
would recede from good and return to his evil. Fourruty, 
That when a man is in evil, many truths may be introduced into 
his understanding, and treasured up in his memory, without being 
profaned. The reason of this is, because the understanding 
does not flow into the will, but the will into the understanding ; 
and as the understanding does not flow into the will, many truths 
may be received by it, and be stored up in the memory, yet 
not be mixed with the evil of the will, and thus what is holy 
may not be profaned. Besides, it is incumbent on every one 
to learn truths from the Word, or from preachings, to deposit 
them in the memory, and to think of them; for it is the duty 
of the understanding, from the truths in the memory, and 
which thence enter into the thought, to teach the will, that is, 
the man, what he ought to do; this therefore is a principal 
means of reformation: when truths are only in the understanding 
and thence in the memory, they are not within the man, but 
without him. A man’s memory may be compared with the 
ruminatory stomach in which eertain animals deposit their food, 
which, so long as it is there, is not within their body, but with- 
out it; but as soon as they bring it up thence, and swallow it, 
it enters into the life and nourishes the body. In a man’s 
memory, however, the provision stored up is not material but 
spiritual, namely, truths, and in itself consists of knowledges ; 
and in proportion as the man, by the exercise of his thinking 
principle, which is a kind of rumination, takes in thence, his 
spiritual mind is nourished. It is the love of the will which 
has a desire, and as it were an appetite, for truths thus deposited, 
causing them to be imbibed and converted into nourishment. 
If that love is evil, it has a desire and as it were an appetite for 
unclean things; but if good, it has a desire, and as it were 
an appetite for clean things; and those things which do not 
agree with it, it separates, puts away, and casts out, which is 
160 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 936 


effected by various means. Firrury, But that the Lord by 
his Divine Providence most especially provides that they be not 
received thence by the will before or in greater proportion than 
that in which the man removes evil in the external man as of of 
himself ; for that which is from the will enters into the man, is 
appropriated to him, and becomes a principle of his life; and 
in the life itself, which the man has from the will, evil and 
good cannot exist together, for in such case he would perish. 
But both may be in the understanding, and are there called 
falsities of evil or truths of good, yet not together; for in such 
case the man would not be able to know evil from good or good 
from evil; but they are distinguished and separated there like a 
house into interior and exterior apartments. When a wicked 
man thinks and speaks good things, he thinks and speaks ex- 
teriorly, but when evil things, interiorly; wherefore when he 
speaks good things, his speech issues as it were from the wall of 
the house, and may be compared to fruit which is fair on the 
outside but worm-eaten and rotten within, and also to the 
outside shell of a dragon’s egg. Srxrury, That if they were 
received sooner and ingreater proportion, the will would adulterate 
the good, and the understanding would falsify the truth, by mixing 
them with evils and their consequent falsities. When the will is 
in evil, it then adulterates good in the understanding, and good 
adulterated in the understanding is evil in the will, for it con- 
firms the persuasion that evil is good, and wce versa. Evil 
does thus with all good, which is opposite to itself; it likewise 
falsifies the truth, because the truth of good is opposite to the 
falsity of evil: this the will does in the understanding, and not 
the understanding from itself. Adulterations of good are de- 
scribed in the Word by adulteries, and falsifications of truth 
by whoredoms. These adulterations and falsifications are effected 
by reasonings from the natural man, which is in evil, and they 
are also effected by. confirmations from the appearances of the 
literal sense of the Word. Self-love, which is the head of all 
evils, is more ingenious than other loves in adulterating goods 
and falsifying truths; and this it does by the abuse of ration- 
ality, which every man has from the Lord, the wicked as well 
as the good. It canindeed by confirmations cause evil to appear 
altogether as good and falsity as truth. What can it not do, 
when it can confirm, by a thousand arguments, that nature 
created herself, that she then created men, beasts, and vegetables 
of all kinds; and further, that by influx from her interior self 
she causes men to live, to think analytically, and to understand 
wisely? The reason why self-love excels in the art of’ con- 
firming whatever it chooses, is, because its most outward surface 
is constituted by a certain splendour of light variegated into divers 
colours; which splendour is that love’s glory of acquiring wisdom, 
and iy that also eminence and dominion. But when this love 
61 


253, 234 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


has confirmed such tenets, it then becomes so blind, that it does 
not see otherwise than that a man is a beast, that they think 
alike, and, indeed, that if a beast could also speak, it would 
be a man in another form. Ifit be led by any persuasion to 
believe that something of a man lives after death, it is then so 
blind that it thinks beasts do the same, and that this something 
living after death is only a subtile exhalation of life, like vapor, 
which nevertheless relapses into its dead body; or that it isa 
vital something without sight, hearing, and speech, consequently 
blind, deaf, and dumb, hovering about and thinking; besides 
many other insane ideas, which nature, though in herself void 
of life, inspires into its fantasy. Such is the effect of self-love, 
which viewed in itself is the love of a man’s proprium; and a 
man’s proprium, as to its affections, which are all natural, is not 
unlike the life of a beast, and as to its perceptions, which proceed 
from those affections, is not unlike an owl. He therefore who 
continually immerses his thoughts in his proprium, cannot be 
elevated out of natural light into spiritual light, nor see any thing 
of God, of heaven, and of life eternal. Since this love is of such 
a nature, and yet excels in the art of confirming whatever it 
chooses, therefore with the same art it can also adulterate the 
good things of the Word, and falsify its truths, when constrained 
through any kind of necessity to confess them. SrvenrTuy, 
That therefore the Lord does not admit a man interiorly into 
the truths of wisdom and the goods of love, except so far as he can 
be kept in them to the end of life. The Lord thus restrains a man, 
lest he should fall into that most grievous kind of profanation 
of things holy, which is treated of in this article. On account 
of this danger, the Lord also permits evils of life, and many 
heresies relating to worship; concerning the permission of which 
the reader is referred to what is shown in the subsequent 
sections. 


THAT THE LAWS OF PERMISSION ARE ALSO LAWS OF THE DIVINE 
PROVIDENCE. 


234. TuERE are not any laws of permission by themselves, 
or separate from the laws of the Divine Providence, but they 
are the same; therefore it is said that God permits, by which 
is not meant that he wills, but that he cannot prevent such a 
thing, on account of the end proposed, which is salvation. 
Whatever is done to the end that salvation may be effected, is 
according to the laws of the Divine Providence; for, as before 
observed, the Divine Providence keeping this end continually 
in view constantly proceeds in a manner different from a man’s 
will and contrary thereto ; therefore, in every moment of its opera- 

162 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 934—936 


tion or in every step of its progression, when it perceives a man to 
deviate from this end, it directs, turns, and disposes him, 
according to its laws, by withdrawing him from evil, and leading 
him to good. That this cannot be done without permitting evil, 
will be seen in what follows. Besides, nothing can be permitted 
without a cause, and the cause exists only in some law of the | 
Divine Providence, which law explains why the thing is per- 
mitted. 

235. He who does not at all acknowledge the Divine Provi- 
dence, does not in his heart acknowledge God ; but instead of God 
he acknowledges nature, and instead of the Divine Providence, 
human prudence. That this is the case is not apparent, because 
a man can think in two different ways, and also speak in different 
ways: he can think and speak one thing from his interior self, 
and another thing from his exterior self; like a hinge on which 
a door can be turned both ways,—one way when a person comes 
in, and another when he goes out; and like as a sail can turn 
a ship in different directions, according to the manner in which 
it is expanded by the mariner. Those who have confirmed 
themselves in favour of human prudence, in such a manner as to 
deny the Divine Providence, whatever they see, hear, and 
read, while they are under the influence of this their own way 
of thinking, do not observe or attend to any thing else; nor 
indeed can they, because they receive nothing from heaven, but 
only from themselves ; and ag they form conclusions from appear- 
ances and fallacies alone, and do not see any thing else, they can 
swear that it is so. If also they acknowledge nature alone, 
they can be angry with the defenders of the Divine Providence, 
se they be not. priests, of whom they think that they are 
ed to such defence in compliance with their particular tenets 
and function. 

236. We shall now proceed to enumerate some things which 
are of permission, and yet according to the laws of the Divine 
Providence, from which the merely natural man confirms him- 
self in favour of nature against God, and in favour of human 
prudence against the Divine Providence ; as, when he reads in 
the Word, that the wisest of men, Adam, and his wife, suffered 
themselves to be seduced by a serpent, and that God did not 
avert this by his Divine Providence ;—that their first son, Cain, 
slew his brother Abel, and God did not then withhold him by 
speaking to him, but only denounced a curse against him after 
the act ;—that the Israelitish nation worshiped a golden calf in 
the wilderness, and acknowledged it as the god which brought 
them out of the land of Egypt, yet Jehovah saw this from 
Mount Sinai, not far off, and did not prevent it;—also, that 
David numbered the people, and a pestilence was therefore sent 
among them, by which many thousands of men perished; and 
that se did not send the prophet Gad to him before the act, 

63 L 


936—238 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


but after it, to denounce punishment ;—that Solomon was per- 
mitted to establish idolatrous worship, and many kings after 
him to profane the temple and the holy things of the church ;— 
and, lastly, that that nation was permitted to crucify the Lord. 
In these and many other passages in the Word, he who acknow- 
ledges nature and human prudence sees nothing but what makes 
against the Divine Providence; therefore he can use them as 
arguments to deny it, if not in his exterior thought which 1s 
nearest to speech, yet in his interior thought which is remote 
from it. 

937. Every worshiper of himself and of nature confirms 
himself against the Divine Providence, when he sees so many 
impious persons in the world, and so many of their impicties, 
in which at the same time some glory, and on account of which, 
nevertheless, they receive no punishments from God. Still more 
does he confirm himself against the Divine Providence, when he 
sees that wicked machinations, cunning, and deceit succeed, 
against the pious, the just, and the sincere; and that injustice 
triumphs over justice, in judgments and affairs of business. 
He confirms himself especially, when he sees the impious ad- 
vanced to honours, and made nobles and primates; that they 
moreover abound in riches, and live elegantly and magnificently 5 
while, on the other hand, the worshipers of God are in contempt 
and poverty. He likewise confirms himself against the Divine 
Providence, when he thinks how wars are permitted, by which 
s0 many men are slaughtered, and so many cities, nations, and 
families plundered; moreover, that victory inclines to the side 
of prudence, and not always in favour of justice; and that it 
makes no difference whether the general be a good or a wicked 
man; besides other such like circumstances ; all of which are 
permissions according to the laws of the Divine Providence. 

938. The same natural man confirms himself against the 
Divine Providence, when he takes a view of the religious per- 
suasions of various nations; seeing that there are some who know 
nothing at all of God; some who worship the sun and moon; 
some also who worship idols and graven images even of monsters ; 
and some who worship dead men. When, in addition to these, 
he thinks of the Mahometan religion, which is received by so 
many empires and kingdoms ; and considers that the Christian 
religion prevails only in the smallest quarter of the habitable 
globe, called Europe ; that even there it is in a state of division ; 
that there are some of its professors who claim to themselves 
divine power, and desire to be worshiped as gods; that they 
invoke dead men; that there are some also who place salvation 
in certain words which they think and speak, and not in any 
good they do; and that there are few who live according to 
their own religion ;—besides taking into account the great 
number of heresies which have heretofore prevailed, and some 

164 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 938—241 


which exist at this day, such as those of the Quakers, Moravians, 
Anabaptists, and others; also, that Judaism still continues ;— 
from these things, the denier of the Divine Providence concludes, 
that religion in itself is not any thing, but yet that it is necessary, 
because it serves as a restraint. 

239. To these arguments more may at this day be added, 
by which those who think inwardly in favour of nature and 
human prudence may still more strongly confirm themselves in 
their sentiments ; as, that the whole Christian world has acknow- 
ledged three gods, not knowing that God is one in person and 
in essence, and that that God is the Lord; also that heretofore 
it was not known, that in every particular of the Word there is 
a spiritual sense, and that therein its holiness consists ;—further, 
that it was not known, that essential Christian religion consists 
in shunning evils as sins ;—and that hitherto it was not known, 
that a man lives as a man after death;—for the favorers of 
nature may say with themselves, and among each other, If these 
things are true, why has the Divine Providence not revealed 
them till now ? 

240. All the particular things which are recited in the num- 
bers 237, 238, and 239, are adduced to the end that it may be 
seen, that all and singular the things which occur in the world, 
as well to the wicked as the good, are of the Divine Providence ; 
consequently, that the Divine Providence operates in the most 
minute particulars of the thoughts and actions of men, and that 
thereby it operates universally. As however this cannot be seen 
therein except each particular be explained separately, therefore 
they shall be briefly explained in the order in which they were 
adduced, beginning with n. 236. 

241. I. That the wisest of men, Adam, and his igi suf 
Jered themselves to be seduced by a serpent, and that God did 
not prevent this by his Divine Providence. The reason of this 
is, because by Adam and his wife are not meant the first of all 
the men that were created in this world, but the men of the 
most ancient church, whose new creation or regeneration is 
described at the beginning of Genesis. Their new creation or 
regeneration itself is signified by the creation of heaven and 
earth in the first chapter; their wisdom and intelligence, by the 
garden of Eden; and the end of that church, by their eating of 
the tree of knowledge. For the Word internally is spiritual, 
containing within its bosom arcana of divine wisdom; and in 
order that these arcana may be contained therein, it is written 
by mere correspondences and representations. From these cor- 
respondences and representations it is evident, that the men of 
that church, who in its beginning were the most wise, and in 
its end, by reason of the pride of their self-derived intelligence, 
the most wicked, were not seduced by any serpent, but by self- 
ibis denoted by the head of the serpent, which is to be 


241, 242 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


bruised by the seed of the woman, that is, by the Lord. Who 
cannot see from reason, that the things to be understood are 
different from what are there historically recorded in the letter ? 
For who can comprehend, that the creation of the world could 
have been such as it is there described? The learned are there- 
fore much puzzled to explain what is contained in the first 
chapter, and confess, after all, that they do not understand it. 
It is said, moreover, that in their garden or Paradise there were 
placed two trees, the one of life, and the other of knowledge, 
and these for a stumbling-block; also, that barely by eating of 
the latter, they sinned so greatly, that not only they, but the 
whole human race, their posterity, became subject to damna- 
tion; and that a serpent was able to seduce them; besides other 
circumstances, as, that the woman was created out of a rib of 
the man; that after their fall they knew that they were naked, 
and covered themselves with fig-leaves, when coats of skins 
were given them to clothe their bodies ; and that cherubim were 
placed with a flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life. 
All these things are representatives, by which are described the 
establishment of the most ancient church, its state of perfec- 
tion, its decline, and lastly, its destruction. The concealed 
meaning of all the things contained in the spiritual sense, which 
resides in every particular of the Word, may be seen explained 
in Tue Arcana CaLesriA on the books of Genesis and Exodus, 
published in London; from which also it may appear, that by 
the tree of life is there understood the Lord with respect to his 
Divine Providence, and that by the tree of knowledge is under- 
stood man with respect to his self-derived prudence. 

242. II. That their first-born son, Cain, slew his brother 
Abel, and God did not prevent it by speaking to him, but only 
cursed him after the act. Since by Adam and his wife is meant 
the most ancient church, as above observed, therefore by Cain 
and Abel, their first sons, are meant two essentials of the 
church, which are love and wisdom, or charity and faith,—by 
Abel, love and charity, and by Cain, wisdom or faith, speci- 
fically wisdom separate from love, or faith separate from charity ; 
and wisdom, as also faith, separate, is of such a nature, that it 
not only rejects love and charity, but also annihilates them, 
and so slays its brother. That faith separate from charity has 
this effect, is well enough known in the Christian world: see 
Tue Docrrinr or tHe New JERUSALEM CONCERNING Farin, 
The curse of Cain involves the spiritual state into which those 
who separate faith from charity, or wisdom from love, come after 
death. Yet that wisdom or faith might not therefore perish, a 
mark was set upon Cain, lest he should be slain; for love does 
not exist without wisdom, nor charity without faith. As by 
these circumstances nearly the same things are represented, as 
by eating of the tree of knowledge, therefore they follow in 

166 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 9429-945 


order after the description of Adam and his wife. 'Those also 
who are in faith separate from charity, are in self-derived intel- 
ligence ; and those who are in charity, and thereby in faith, 
are In intelligence from the Lord, and thus in the Divine Pro- 
vidence. 

243. III. Lhat the Israelitish nation worshiped a golden 
calf in the wilderness, and acknowledged tt as the god which 
brought them out of the land of Egypt; yet Iechovah saw this 
rom Mount Sinai, not far off, and did not prevent it. This 
was done in the wilderness of Sinai near the Mount. That 
Jehovah did not withhold the Israelites from that wicked idol- 
atry, is conformable with all the laws of the Divine Providence 
which have before been set forth, and also with those which fol- 
low. This evil was permitted them that they might not all 
perish ; for the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt 
that they might represent the Lord’s church; which they could 
not have done, unless the Egyptian idolatry had been first rooted 
out of their hearts; and this could not have been done, except 
they had been left to themselves to act according to that which 
was in their hearts, and so to have it removed by a grievous 
punishment. What is further signified by that idolatrous wor- 
ship, and by the threat that they should be totally rejected, and 
that a new nation should be raised up out of Moses, may be 
seen in Tus Arcana Caxxsrra, on Exodus xxii., where this sub- 
ject is treated of. 

244. IV. That David numbered the people, and a pestilence 
was therefore sent among them, by which many thousands of 
men perished ; and that God did not send the prophet Gad to 
him before the act, but after tt, to denounce punishment. He 
who confirms himself against the Divine Providence may also 
think and revolve in his mind various things on this matter, 
particularly, why David was not forewarned, and why the peo- 
ple were so grievously punished for the king’s transgression. 
Lhat David was not forewarned, is conformable to the laws of 
the Divine Providence previously set forth, especially the two 
which are explained, n. 129—153; and n. 154—174.° That the 
people were so grievously punished for the king’s transgression, 
and seventy thousand of them cut off by the pestilence, was not 
owing to the king, but to the people; for it is written: “ Again 
the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, therefore he 
moved David against them, saying, Go number Israel and 
Judah” (2 Sam. xxiv. 1). 

245. V. That Solomon was permitted to establish idolatrous 
worship. This was in order that he might represent the Lord’s 
kingdom or church, with all the religions in the universal world; 
for the church established with the Israelitish and Jewish nations 
was a representative church, and therefore all the judgments 
and ian of that church represented spiritual things of the 


945—247 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


church, which are its internals. The people themselves repre- 
sented the church, the king represented the Lord,—David, the 
Lord who was about to come into the world, and Solomon, the 
Lord after his coming; and since the Lord after the glorifica- 
tion of his humanity had power over heaven and earth, as he 
himself says (Matt. xxviii. 18), therefore Solomon who repre- 
sented him appeared in glory and magnificence, was in wisdom 
above all the kings of the earth, and also built the temple. He 
moreover permitted and established the religious worship of 
many nations, by which were represented the various religious 
principles prevailing in the world. The like is signified by his 
wives, which were seven hundred in number, and by his con- 
cubines, which amounted to three hundred, 1 Kings xi. 3; for 
wife in the Word signifies a church, and concubine a religious 
principle. Hence it may appear why Solomon was appointed 
to build the temple, by which the Lord’s divine humanity was 
signified (John ii. 19, 21), and also the church; likewise, why 
he was permitted to establish idolatrous worship, and to have so 
many wives. That by David in many passages in the Word is 
meant the Lord, who was to come into the world, may be seen 
in Tue Docrrins or THE New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE 
Lorp, n. 438, 44. 

246. VI. That many kings after Solomon were permitted 
to profane the temple and the holy things of the church. This 
was because the people represented the church, and their king 
the head of them; and as the Israelitish and Jewish nation were 
of such a nature, that they could not long represent the church, 
for they were idolaters at heart, therefore they receded succes- 
sively trom representative worship, by perverting all things of 
the church, so that in the end they vastated it. This was repre- 
sented by profanations of the temple by their kings, and by 
their idolatries; the vastation of the church itself by the de- 
struction of the temple, by the carrying away of the Israelitish 
people, and the captivity of the Jewish people in Babylon. 
This was the cause of the above permission; and whatever is 
done from any cause, is done from the Divine Providence of the 
Lord according to some of its laws. 

247. WII. That that nation was permitted to crucify the 
Lord. The reason of this was, because the church among that 
nation was totally vastated, and become such, that they not only 
did not know and acknowledge the Lord, but also hated him : 
nevertheless, all that they did to him was according to the laws 
of his Divine Providence. That the passion of the cross was 
the last temptation, or last combat, by which the Lord fully 
overcame the hells, and fully glorified his humanity, may be 
seen in Tue Docrrine or tHe New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE 
Lorp, n. 12, 13, 14, and in Toe Docrrine or tHE NEw JERUSALEM 
CONCERNING ['arru, n. 84, 35. 

168 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 248, 249 


248. Thus far we have explained the particulars above 
recited, n. 236, which are some passages out of the Word, 
whereby a natural man, who reasons against the Divine Pro- 
vidence, may confirm himself in such reasoning; for, as before 
observed, whatever such a man sees, hears, and reads, he can 
take up as an argument against Providence. Few, however, 
confirm themselves ‘against the Divine Providence from the 
things contained in the Word; but many do so from the things 
which are extant before theix eyes, as mentioned in n. 237, 
which shall now in like manner be explained. 

249. I. That every worshiper of self and of nature confirms 
himself against the Divine Providence, when he sees so many 
emprous persons in the world, and so many of their impieties, 
in which, at the same time, some glory, and on account of which, 
nevertheless, they receive no punishment from God. All impie- 
ties, and all glorying therein, are permissions, the causes of which 
are laws of the Divine Providence. Every man may freely, 
indeed most freely, think whatever he will, as well against God 
as in favour of God; and he who thinks against God is rarely 
punished in the natural world, because there he is always in a 
state capable of reformation ; but he is punished in the spiritual 
world after death, for then he can no longer be reformed. That 
the laws of the Divine Providence are the cause of permissions, 
is evident from those above set forth, if they are reviewed and 
examined, namely, That a man ought to act from liberty accord- 
ing to reason; concerning which see n. 71—97 above. That a 
man ought not to be forced by external means to think and 
will, and so to believe and love the things which are of religion, 
but that he ought to lead and sometimes to force himself to it; 
concerning which see n. 129—174. That self-derived prudence 
is nothing, and only appears as if it was, and also ought so to 
appear; but that the Divine Providence from things the most 
particular is universal, n. 191—213. That the Divine Provi- 
dence has respect to things eternal, and not to temporary things, 
except so far as they make one with things eternal, n. 214— 
220. And that a man is not admitted interiorly into the truths 
of faith and goods of charity, except so far as he can be kept 
in them to his life’s end; concerning which see n. 221—233. 
That the causes of permissions are laws of the Divine Provi- 
dence, will also be evident from what follows; as, from this 
consideration, that evils are permitted to the end that salvation 
may be effected; from this, that the Divine Providence is con- 
tinual, as well with the wicked as the good; and, lastly, from 
this, that the Lord cannot act against the laws of his Divine 
Providence, because to act against them would be to act against 
his divine love and wisdom, consequently against himself. These 
laws, if they be compared, may show the reasons why impieties 
are ied by the Lord, and not punished when they exist 

69 


249, 250 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


in thought only, also rarely when they exist in intention, or 
when in the will, and not in act. Yet every evil is followed by 
its punishment, for it is as if evil had its punishment inscribed 
upon it, which the impious man suffers after death. By the 
considerations here adduced, may also be explained the reason of 
the following position stated in n. 237: That the worshiper of 
self and of nature confirms himself still more against the Divine 
Providence, when he sees that wicked contrivances, cunning, and 
decert, succeed against the pious, the just, and the sincere ; and 
that injustice triumphs over justice in judgments and affairs of 
business. All the laws of the Divine Providence are necessities ; 
and since necessities are the causes why the above evil things 
are permitted, it is evident that, to the end that aman may 
live as a man, the liberty of doing such things cannot be taken 
away from him by the Lord, except mediately by the Word, 
and especially by the precepts of the Decalogue, with those 
who acknowledge all kinds of murders, adulteries, thefts, and 
false testimony to be sins; but with those who do not acknow- 
ledge such things to be sins, the same is effected mediately by 
civil laws, and the fear of punishment thence incurred; also 
mediately by moral laws, and fear of the loss of character, 
honour, and interest. By these means the Lord leads the wicked, 
yet only from doing such things, and not from thinking and 
willing them; but by the former means he leads the good, 
not only from doing evils, but also from thinking and willing 
them. 

250. Il. That the worshiper of self and of nature confirms 
himself against the Divine Providence, when he sees the impious 
promoted to honours, and made nobles and primates ; that they 
moreover abound in wealth, and live elegantly and magnificently, 
while the worshipers of God remain in contempt and poverty. 
The worshiper of self and of nature thinks dignities and riches 
the supreme and sole felicities which can be given, consequently 
the real and essential felicities. If, in consequence of having 
been initiated into divine worship in his infancy, he thinks any 
thing of God, he calls them divine blessings; and so long as 
from these blessings he does not aspire to any thing higher, he 
thinks that there is a God, and worships him; but in this wor- 
ship there lies hid a motive which he himself does not then 
know,—that he may be promoted by God to still higher dig- 
nities and more abundant wealth; and if he attains thereto, 
his worship declines more and more to exteriors, till it comes to 
nothing, and at length he makes no account of God, and denies 
him. The effect is the same, if he be cast down from the 
dignity and opulence on which he had placed his heart. To the 
wicked then, what are dignities and riches but stumbling- 
blocks? Not so to the good, because they do not place their 
hearts thereon, but on the uses or goods, for the doing of which 

170 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. ; 950 


dignities and riches serve as means. Therefore, from the pro- 
motion of the impious to dignities and riches, and their being 
made nobles and primates, no one but a worshiper of self and 
of nature can confirm himself against the Divine Providence. 
Besides, what is greater or lesser dignity, and greater or lesser 
opulence? Is it any thing in itself, but only something ima- 
ginary? Is one more prosperous and happy than the other? 
Is the dignity of a noble, or even of a king or an emperor, 
after a year’s duration, considered any otherwise than as some. 
thing common, which no longer makes his heart dilate with joy, 
and may even become vile in his sight? Are men, by virtue of 
their dignity, in any greater degree of happiness, than those 
who are in less dignity, or than those even who are in the least 
of all, such as husbandmen and their servants ? May not these 
latter be in a greater degree of happiness, when they are pros- 
perous and contented with their lot? Who is more restless at 
heart, more frequently fretted, or more grievously enraged, 
than a lover of himself? This is the case as often as he is not 
honoured according to the pride of his heart, or when any thing 
does not succeed according to his wish and pleasure. What 
then is dignity, if it be not to some use and purpose, but an 
idea? Can such an idea exist in any other thought, than in 
that about self and the world? And is it any thing in itself 
but an idea, that the world is every thing and eternity nothing? 
We will here add a few observations concerning the reason why 
the Divine Providence permits the wicked at heart to be pro- 
moted to dignities, and to acquire wealth. The impious, or 
wicked, can equally as well perform uses as the pious or good, 
indeed, with greater ardour, for they consider themselves in uses, 
and honours they consider as uses; therefore in proportion to 
the prevalence of self-love, is kindled the lust of doing’ uses 
with a view to their own glory. Such fire does not operate with 
the pious or good, unless it be kindled from below by the con- 
sideration of honour; for which reason the Lord rules the impious 
at heart, who are in dignities, by the love of fame, and thereby 
excites them to perform uses to the community or their country, 
to the society or city in which they dwell, and also to their 
neighbour or fellow-citizen : for the Lord’s kingdom is a kingdom 
of uses; and where there are only a few who perform uses for 
the sake of being useful, he causes the worshipers of self to be 
advanced to oftices of pre-eminence, in which they are all ex- 
cited by self-love to do good. Suppose there were any infernal 
kingdom in this world (although there is not any such), in which 
the love of self only prevailed, selflove being the devil himself, 
would not every member of it perform uses from the fire of self. 
love, and the splendour of his own glory, more than in any other 
kingdom? All such have in their mouths nothing but the 
pe and in their hearts nothing but their own good ; 
171 


250, 251 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and as every one in such case looks up to his prince that he may 
be made greater, for he aspires to be greatest, can such a one 
see that there is a God, whilst he is encompassed by the smoke 
as it were of a conflagration, which no spiritual truth in its light 
can pervade? Ihave seen that smoke about the hells of such. 
Seek every method of information, and inquire how many of 
those, who at this day aspire to dignities in the kingdoms of 
the earth, are any other than lovers of self and of the world. 
You will scarcely find fifty in a thousand who are influenced 
by the love of God, and among these only a few aspire to 
dignities. Since then they are so few in number who are in- 
fluenced by the love of God, and so many who are influenced 
by the love of self and of the world, and since the latter loves, 
from the nature of their fires, are more productive of uses, than 
the love of God is, from its fire, how can any one confirm himself 
against Divine Providence from the circumstance of the wicked 
being in greater pre-eminence and opulence than the good? 
This view is also confirmed by these words of the Lord: “ And 
the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done 
wisely : for the children of this world are in their generation 
wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, make to 
yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, 
when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations” 
(Luke xvi. 8, 9). What is meant by these words, in the natural 
sense, is evident: but, in the spiritual sense, by mammon of 
unrighteousness are meant the knowledges of things good and 
true which the wicked possess, and which they use solely for the 
purpose of acquiring to themselves dignities and riches. It is 
these knowledges, of which the good, or the children of light, 
are to make to themselves friends, and which are to introduce 
them into everlasting habitations. That there are many who 
love themselves and the world, and few who love God, the Lord 
also teaches in these words: “ Wide is the gate, and broad is the 
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go 
in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, 
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. vii. 
13, 14). That dignities and riches are either curses or blessings, 
and with whom they are such, may be seen above, n. 217. 

251. ILL. That the worshiper of self and of nature confirms 
himself against the Divine Providence, when he considers that 
wars are permitted, by which so many men are slaughtered, and 
their possessions plundered. It is not from the Divine Provi- 
dence that wars exist, because they are connected with murders, 
depredations, violences, cruelties, and other enormous evils, which 
are diametrically contrary to Christian charity; but still they 
cannot but be permitted, because the life’s love of man, since the 
time of the most ancient people, who are meant by Adam and 
his wife (treated of above, n. 241), is become of such a nature, 

172 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 951 


that he desires to have dominion over others, and at length over 
all, and wishes to possess worldly wealth, and at length all the 
wealth in the world. These two loves cannot be held in bonds ; 
since it is according to the Divine Providence, that every one 
should be allowed to act from liberty according to reason, con- 
cerning which see above, n. 71 to 97; and without permissions, 
aman cannot be led by the Lord from evils, consequently cannot 
be reformed and saved; for if evils were not permitted to break 
out, a man would not see them, therefore would not acknowledge 
them, and could not be induced to resist them. Hence it is that 
evils cannot be restrained from appearing by any regulation 
of the Divine Providence ; for in that case, they would remain 
shut in, and like the diseases called cancer and mortification, 
would spread, and consume every thing vital in the man. Fora 
man is by birth like a little hell, between which and heaven 
there is a perpetual disagreement. No man can be drawn out 
of his hell by the Lord, unless he sees that he is there, and wishes 
to be delivered; and this cannot be done without permissions, 
the causes of which are laws of the Divine Providence. This is 
the reason why there are wars of greater or lesser extent . 
lesser wars between the possessors of lands and lordships and 
their neighbours, and greater wars between the monarchs of 
kingdoms and their neighbours. Their being greater or lesser 
makes no other difference than that the lesser are kept within 
certain bounds by the laws of their particular nation, and the 
greater by the law of nations ; and that, although the lesser as 
well as the greater are desirous of going beyond their laws, the 
lesser cannot, and the greater can, yet still within the limits of a 
certain possibility. That the greater wars, notwithstanding they 
are connected with slaughter, depredations, violence, and cruelty, 
are not prevented by the Lord from being carried on by kings 
and generals, neither in their beginning nor in their progress, 
until in the end the power of one or the other is so reduced that 
they are in danger of destruction, is owing to several causes, 
which are hid in the treasury of divine wisdom. Some of these 
have been revealed to me; among which is the following,—that 
all wars, although they are of a civil nature, are representative 
of states of the church in heaven, and are correspondences. 
Such were all the wars which are described in the Word, and 
such also are all wars at this day. The wars described in the 
Word are those which were carried on by the children of Israel 
with various nations, as with the Amorites, the Ammonites, 
the Moabites, the Philistines, the Syrians, the Egyptians, the 
“Chaldeans, the Assyrians; and when the children of Israel, 
who represented the church, departed from their precepts and 
statutes, and fell into the evils which were signified by those 
mee (for each particular nation, with which the children of 
3 


951 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


Israel waged war, signified some particular kind of evil), then 
they were punished by that nation. For example, when they 
profaned the holy things of the church by foul idolatries, 
they were punished by the Assyrians and Chaldeans, because 
by ‘Assyria and Chaldea is signified the profanation of what is 
holy. What is signified by the wars with the Philistines may 
be seen in Tur Docrrine or tHe New JERUSALEM CONCERN- 
ing Farrn, n. 50—54. Similar things are represented by wars 
at this day, wherever they are; for all the things which are done 
in the natural world correspond with spiritual things in the 
spiritual world, and all spiritual things concern the church. It 
is not known in this world, which kingdoms in Christendom 
represent the Moabites and Ammonites, which the Syrians and 
Philistines, and which the Chaldeans and Assyrians, and the 
others with whom the children of Israel carried on war ; never- 
theless there are kingdoms in Christendom which represent those 
people. But what is the quality of the church upon earth, and 
what are the evils into which it falls, and on account of which it 
is punished with wars, cannot at all be seenin the natural world, 
because in that world appear externals only, which do not con- 
stitute the church; but it is seen in the spiritual world, where 
internals appear, which do constitute the church ; and there all 
are conjoined according to their various states. The conflicts 
of those in the spiritual world correspond to wars, which on 
both sides are governed correspondently by the Lord according 
to his Divine Providence. That wars in this world are governed 
by the Divine Providence of the Lord, is acknowledged by the 
spiritual man, but not by thenatural man, except when a feast 
is appointed on account of a victory; and then upon his knees 
he can give thanks to God who has given the victory; and he 
can also offer up a few ejaculations before he goes to battle ; but 
when he returns to himself, he either ascribes the victory to the 
prudence of the general, or to some measure or incident in the 
midst of the battle, which they had not thought of, and by 
which nevertheless the victory was decided. That the Divine 
Providence, which is called fortune, operates in the most minute 
particulars even of trifling things, may be seen above, n. 2125 
and if you acknowledge the Divine Providence in such things, 
much more should you acknowledge it in the concerns of war. 
Successes and advantages obtained in war are commonly called 
the fortune of war; and this is the Divine Providence operating 
especially in the counsels and designs meditated by the general, 
although he at the time, and afterwards, may ascribe the whole 
to his own prudence. This he may do if he pleases, for. he is 
at full liberty to think either in favour of the Divine Providence 
or against it, and, indeed, either in favour of God or against him 5 
but he ought to know, that not the smallest particular of his 
174 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 951—-953 


counsels or meditated measures is from himself: they all flow 
from heaven, or from hell,—from hell by permission, and from 
heaven by the Divine Providence. 

252. IV. Lhat the worshiper of self and of nature confirms 
himself against the Divine Providence, when he thinks, according 
to his perception, that victories declare on the side of prudence, 
and not always on the side of justices and that it makes no differ- 
ence whether the general be a good or a wicked man. The reason 
why it seems as if victory declared en the side of prudence, and 
sometimes not on the side of justice, is, because a man judges 
from appearance, and favours one party more than another ; and 
that which he favours he can confirm by reasonings. Nor does 
he know, as before observed, that the justice of the cause in 
heaven is spiritual, and in this world natural; and that they 
are joined by a connection of things past and to come, which 
are known only to the Lord. That it makes no difference 
whether the general be a good or a wicked man, is owing to 
the same cause which is assigned above, n. 250, namely, that 
the wicked perform uses as well as the good, and, indeed, from 
the fire peculiar to themselves, more ardently than the good ; 
especially in wars, because a wicked man is more crafty and 
cunning in devising deceitful contrivances, and from the love of 
glory receives pleasure in killing and plundering those whom 
he knows and declares to be enemies, which is not the case 
with a good man, who is only influenced by prudence and zeal 
in defending himself, and rarely in invading others. It is the 
same with the spirits of hell, and the angels of heaven; the 
former assaulting and the latter defending themselves. Hence 
may be deduced this conclusion, that it is allowable for any 
persons to defend their country and associates against invading 
enemies, even by means of wicked generals; but it is not 
allowable to make themselves enemies without a cause. When 
a desire for glory alone is the cause, it is in itself diabolical, 
for this springs from self-love. 

253. Thus far have been explained the things adduced above, 
n. 237, by which the merely natural man confirms himself 
against the Divine Providence : we will now proceed to explain 
those which follow, in n. 238; relating to the religions of many 
nations, which can also serve the merely natural man as argu- 
ments against the Divine Providence; for he says in his heart, 
How can so many discordant religions exist, and why not one 
true religion throughout all the world, if, as is shown above, 
the Divine Providence has for its end a heaven out of the human 
race, n. 27—45? But hear, I beseech you: All who are born 
men, whatever may be their religion, are capable of being saved, 
provided they acknowledge a God, and live according to the 
commandments of the Decalogue, which are, not to kill, not to 
i adultery, not to steal, not to bear false witness, because 

5 


253, 254 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


to do such things is contrary to religion, therefore contrary to 
God. In such persons there is the fear of God and the love of 
their neighbour,—the fear of God, because they think that to 
do such things is to act against God; and the love of their 
neighbour, because to kill, to commit adultery, to steal, to 
bear false witness, and to covet their neighbour’s house and his 
wife, is to act against their neighbour. These persons, since 
they respect God in their lives, and do no evil to their neigh- 
bour, are led by the Lord; and those who are so led, are also 
taught according to their religion concerning God and their 
neighbour; for those who so live, love to be taught, but those 
who live otherwise, do not love to be taught. As they love 
to be taught, therefore, after death also, when they become 
spirits, they are instructed by the angels, and willingly receive 
such truths as are contained in the Word. On this subject 
something may be seen in Tue Doorriwe or THE NEw JERVv- 
SALEM CONCERNING THE SacrepD Scrrprurn, n. 91—97; and 
104—113. 

254. I. That the merely natural man confirms himself against 
the Divine Providence, when he considers the religions of various 
nations, and that there are some who are totally ignorant of a 
God, some who adore the sun and moon, and some also who adore 
idols and graven images. Those who from these circumstances 
deduce arguments against the Divine Providence, are not ac- 
quainted with the arcana of heaven, which are innumerable, 
and of which scarcely any come to our knowledge: for among 
these arcana this is one, that a man is not taught immediately 
from heaven, but mediately; on which subject, see above, n. 
154—174. Since he is taught mediately, and the gospel could 
not by emissaries be extended to all who inhabit the whole 
earth, although some religion could be handed down by various 
means even to the Gentiles who are in the remote corners of 
the earth, therefore this was effected by the Divine Providence ; 
for no man has any religion from himself, but through some 
other person, who either knows from the Word, or has learned 
by tradition from others, that there is a God, that there are a 
heaven and a hell, and a life after death, and that God is to be 
worshiped in order that man may be made happy. ‘That religion 
bas been made known over the whole earth from the ancient 
Word, and afterwards from the Israelitish Word, may be seen 
in Tur Docrrinr or tHe New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE 
Sacrep Scriprure, n. 101—103; and that without the Word 
no one could have known any thing of God, of heaven and hell, 
or of a life after death, much less any thing of the Lord, may 
be seen, n. 114—118 of the same tract. When once a religion 


is implanted in any nation, the people are led by the Lord ac-. 


cording to the precepts and tenets of their religion; and the 
Lord provides that in every religion there shall be precepts 
176 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 254 


similar to those in the Decalogue; as, that God should be wor- 
shiped, and his name not profaned, that festivals should be 
observed, parents honoured, murder, adultery, and theft, not com- 
mitted, and false testimony not given. The nation which makes 
these precepts divine, and from a principle of religion lives ac- 
cording to them, is saved, as was said above, n. 253. And 
most of the nations, which are even remote from the Christian 
world, consider these laws, not as civil, but as divine, and hold 
them sacred. That aman is saved by a life according to these 
precepts, may be seen in Tue Docrrine or toe New Jerv- 
SALEM FROM THE PRECEPTS OF THE DrcALocur, from beginning 
to end. Among the arcana of heaven there is this also,— 
that the angelic heaven is in the sight of the Lord as one man, 
of whom the Lord is the soul and life, and that this divine 
man is in every particular of his form a man, not only as to his 
external, but also as to his internal members and organs, which 
are many, and likewise as to the skin, membranes, cartilages, 
and bones: none however of these parts in that man are mate- 
rial, but all are spiritual. And it is provided by the Lord, 
that those to whom the gospel cannot reach, but only some 
religion, may likewise have a place in that man, that is, in 
heaven, by constituting the parts called the skin, membranes, 
cartilages, and bones; and that they may live equally as well 
as others in heavenly joy: for it makes no difference whether a 
person be in such joy as is experienced by the angels of the 
highest heaven, or in such as is experienced by the angels of the 
lowest heaven, since every one, who is received into heaven, 
enters into the supreme or full joy of his heart; and greater 
than that he cannot support, for thereby he would be suffo- 
cated. The case is similar to a husbandman in comparison with 
a king: the former may be in a state of the greatest happiness, 
when he goes clad in anew suit of coarse worsted apparel, and sits 
down to a table furnished with plain and wholesome food; and 
he would be distressed at heart, if he were to be clothed like a 
king in purple, silk, gold, and silver, and if a table were set 
out for him, with expensive and exquisite delicacies of various 
kinds, and generous wines. From which consideration it is 
evident, that the last as well as the first in heaven, have celestial 
felicity, each in his degree; and consequently that those also 
enjoy such felicity, who are without the Christian world, pro- 
vided they shun evils as sins against God, because they are 
contrary to religion. There are some few, who are totally 
ignorant with respect to God; but that these, if they have lived 
a moral life, are instructed after death by angels, and in their 
moral life receive a spiritual principle, may be seen in the 
Docrrine or tHe New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED 
Scriprurg, n. 116. It is the same with those who worship the 
sun ai: moon, and think that God is therein. They know no 
1 


254, 255 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


otherwise, and therefore it is not imputed to them as a sin, 
for the Lord says, “If ye were blind,” that is, if ye did not 
know, “ye would have no sin” (John ix. 41). But there are 
many who worship idols and images, even in the Christian 
world ; and this, indeed, is idolatrous, yet not in all; for there 
are some to whom images serve as means of exciting them to 
think of God. By virtue of influx from heaven, those who 
acknowledge God, wish to see him; and those who cannot, 
like those who are interiorly spiritual, elevate the mind above 
things sensual, awaken in themselves an idea of him from a 
statue or a graven image. ‘Those who do this, and do not adore 
the image itself as a god, if also they live according to the pre- 
cepts of the Decalogue from a principle of religion, are saved. 
Hence it is evident, that as the Lord wills the salvation of all, 
he has also provided that every one, if he lives well, may have 
some place in heaven. That heaven before the Lord is as one 
man; that thence heaven corresponds to all and singular the 
things appertaining to man; and that there are also some who 
represent the skin, the membranes, cartilages, and bones, may 
be seen in the work concerning Hraven anp Hert, published 
in London 1758, n. 59—102: also in the Arcana CaresTrA; n. 
5052—5556 ; and above, n. 201—204. 

255. Il. Lhatthemerely natural man confirms himself against 
the Divine Providence, when he reflects wpon the Mahometan 
religion, and considers that itis received by so many empires and 
kingdoms. That this religion is received by a greater number of 
kingdoms than the Christian religion, may be matter of scandal 
to those who think of the Divine Providence, and at the same 
time imagine that no one can be saved except he be born a 
Christian, and in a country where the Word is possessed, by 
means of which the Lord is known. But the Mahometan religion 
is no matter of scandal to those who believe that all things are 
of the Divine Providence. These inquire wherein such Provi- 
dence can be traced, and they discover it. It is perceived in this, 
that the Mahometan religion acknowledges the Lord to be the 
Son of God, the wisest of men, and the greatest of prophets, 
who came into the world to teach men; and most Mahometans 
therefore consider the Lord as greater than Mahomet. That 
it may be better understood that this religion was raised up by 
the Divine Providence of the Lord, for the purpose of destroying 
the idolatry of many nations, the subject shall be considered 
in an orderly arrangement, beginning with some observations 
concerning the origin of idolatries. Previous to the religion of 
Mahomet, the worship of idols was common over the whole 
earth ; the reason of which was, that the churches, before the 
Lord’s coming, were all representative churches. ‘Such was the 
Israelitish church ; and the tabernacle, the garments of Aaron, 
the sacrifices, all things appertaining to the temple at Jerusalem, 

178 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 955 


and also the statutes, were representative. The ancients also 
understood the science of correspondences, which is the science 
of representations, the peculiar science of their wise men, and 
was cultivated particularly in Keypt, whence they had their 
hieroglyphics. By this science, they knew what was signified 
by animals of all kinds, what by trees of all kinds, and what 
by mountains, hills, rivers, and fountains; what also by the 
sun, moon, and stars; and as all their divine worship was 
representative, consisting of mere correspondences, therefore they 
celebrated it upon mountains and hills, also in groves and gar- 
dens. For the same reason they consecrated fountains, turned 
their faces towards the east in their adoration of God, and also 
made themselves carved images of horses, oxen, calves, lambs, 
even of birds, fishes, and serpents, and placed them in their 
houses and other places, in a certain order, according to the 
spiritual things of the church to which they corresponded or 
which they represented. They placed similar things in their 
temples, that they might recall to their memories the holy things 
Which they signified. In process of time when the science of 
correspondences was lost, their posterity began to worship the 
images themselves as sacred, not knowing that their ancestors 
saw nothing sacred in them, and that they were only so according 
to the correspondences they represented and thence signified. 
Thus arose the idolatries which filled the whole earth, as well 
Asia with its adjacent islands, as Africa and Europe. In order 
that all these idolatries might be extirpated, it was permitted 
by the Divine Providence of the Lord, that, in accommodation 
to the genius of the eastern nations, there should arise a new 
religion, in which there might be something out of both Testa- 
ments of the Word, and which might teach that the Lord came 
into the world, that he was the greatest prophet, the wisest of 
all, and the Son of God. This was effected by Mahomet, from 
whom that religion is called the Mahometan religion. . It was 
raised up by the Divine Providence of the Lord, in accommoda- 
tion, as was observed, to the genius of the eastern nations, to 
the end that it might destroy the idolatries which at that time 
80 generally prevailed, and give the inhabitants of those countries 
some knowledge of the Lord, before they came into the spiritual 
world; and such religion would not have been received by so 
many kingdoms, or have had power to extirpate their idolatries, 
if it had not been accommodated and adapted to the ideas and 
mode of life prevailing amongst them all. The reason why they 
did not acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, 
was because the eastern nations acknowledged a God the Creator 
of the universe, but could not comprehend that he himself came 
into the world, and took upon him the human nature. Nor is 
this comprehended by Christians, who, therefore, in thought, 
seRauate his divinity from his humanity, placing his divinity 
«9 M 


255, 256 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


beside the Father in heaven, and his humanity they know not 
where. Hence it may be seen, that the Mahometan religion 
also had its origin in the Divine Providence of the Lord ; and 
that all persons of that religion, who acknowledge the Lord as 
the Son of God, and at the same time live according to the 
precepts of the Decalogue, which they also possess, by shunning 
evils as sins, are received into that: heaven which 1s ealled the 
Mahometan heaven. This is also divided into three heavens,— 
the supreme, middle, and lowest. In the supreme heaven are 
those who acknowledge the Lord to be one with the Father, 
and consequently to be the only God; in the second heaven, 
those who renounce a plurality of wives, and live with one 
only; and in the ultimate heaven, those who are initiated. 
More concerning this religion may be seen in Tue Contr 
NUATION ConceRNING THE Last JUDGMENT AND THE SPIRITUAL 
Wortp, n. 68—72, where the Mahometans and Mahomet are 
treated of. 

956. Ill. That the merely natural man confirms himself 
against the Divine Providence, when he sees that the Christian 
religion ts received only in the smallest quarter of the habitable 
globe, called Europe, and that there a os divided. The reason 
why the Christian religion is established only in the smallest 
quarter of the habitable globe, called Europe, is, because it was 
not so well accommodated to the genius of the eastern nations, 
as the Mahometan religion which is mixed, as was shown above ; 
and a religion is not received by those to whom it is not accom- 
modated. For example: a religion which forbids the having of 
more than one wife, is not received, but rejected, by those who 
for some ages back have been addicted to polygamy ; and it is 
the same with respect to some other things prohibited by the 
Christian religion. Nor does it signify whether it be received 
by a greater or a smaller part of the world, provided there be a 
people who are in possession of the Word: for thence light is 
received even by those who are out of the church, and have not 
the Word, as is shown in Tus Docrrine or tur NEw J ERU- 
SALEM CONCERNING THE Sacrep Scriprury, n. 104—113; and 
what is wonderful, where the Word is read with devotion, and 
the Lord is worshiped from the Word, there the Lord 1s, with 
heaven. The reason is, because the Lord is the Word, and the 
Word is divine truth, which constitutes heaven; and therefore 
the Lord says, “ Where two or three are gathered together in 
my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. XVili. 20). 
This may be effected with the Word by the Europeans in many 
parts of the habitable globe, because they have communication 
with the whole world; and either read the Word or teach from 
it everywhere. This may appear like a fiction, but it is never- 
theless true. The reason why the Christian religion is divided, 
is, because it is derived from the Word, which is written by 

180 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 256, 257 


mere correspondences, and correspondences are for the most 
part appearances of truth, in which, nevertheless, genuine 
truths lie concealed. Therefore, as the doctrine of the church 
is to be drawn from the literal sense of the Word, which is ot 
such a nature, there could not but exist in the church disputes, 
controversies, and dissensions, with respect especially to the 
meaning of the Word, but not with respect to the Word itself, 
and the Lord’s divinity itself; for it is everywhere acknowledged 
that the Word is holy, and that the Lord is Divine, and these 
two are the essentials of the church; therefore, also, those who 
deny the Lord’s divinity, as those who are called Socinians, are 
excommunicated from the church; and those who deny the 
sanctity of the Word, are not reputed as Christians. To this I 
will add a memorable circumstance relating to the Word, from 
which it may be concluded, that the Word interiorly is divine 
truth itself, and most interiorly the Lord. When any spirit 
opens the Word, and rubs his face or his clothes with it, then, 
merely by being rubbed with it, they shine as bright as the 
moon or a star, and this in the sight of all whom he meets: this 
is a proof that there is nothing in the world more holy than the 
Word. That the Word is written by mere correspondences, 
may be seen in Tue Docrrine or trun New JERUSALEM CONCERN- 
ING THE Sackep Soriprure, n. 5—26; that the doctrine of the 
church is to be deduced from the literal sense of the Word, and 
confirmed by it, n. 50—61; that heresies may be derived from 
the literal sense of the Word, but that to confirm them is 
hurtful, n. 91—97; and that the church exists from the Word, 
and that its quality is according to its understanding of the 
Word, n. 76—79. 

257. IV. Lhat the merely natural man confirms himself 
aguinst the Divine Providence, because in many kingdoms, 
where the Christian religion is received, there are some who 
cam to themselves divine power, and desire to be worshiped 
as gods; and because they invoke dead men. They say, indeed, 
that they have not arrogated to themselves divine power, and 
that they do not desire to be worshiped as gods; but yet they 
say that they can open and shut heaven, and remit and retain 
sins, consequently can save and condemn men, which is the pre- 
rogative of divinity itself; for the Divine Providence has nothing 
for its end but the reformation and thereby the salvation of man- 
kind. This is its continual operation with every one; and sal- 
vation cannot be effected except by an acknowledgment of the 
Lord’s divinity, and confidence that it is wrought by him, when 
a man lives according to his commandments. Who cannot see 
that this is the Babylon described in the Revelation, and the 
Babel treated of in many parts of the prophets? That this also 
is meant by Lucifer in Isaiah xiv. is evident from the 4th and 
22d verses of that chapter, in which are the following words: 

181 


257 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


“Thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon” 
(verse 4): afterwards, “ I will cut off from Babylon the name and 
remnant” (verse 22); from which it is evident, that Babylon is 
there signified by Lucifer, of whom it is said, “ How art thou 
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! For thou 
hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt 
my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the 
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will 
ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most 
High” (verses 12, 13, 14). That they invoke dead men, and pray 
to them for succour, is well known. It is affirmed that they 
invoke them, because the invocation of them is established by 
a papal bull, confirming the decree of the Council of Trent, in 
which it is openly said that they are to be invoked: yet who 
does not know that God alone ought to be invoked, and not 
any dead man? But it shall now be stated why the Lord per- 
mitted such things. That he permitted them for a certain end, 
which is salvation, cannot be denied; for it is well known, that 
without the Lord there is no salvation. This being the case, 
there was a necessity that the Lord should be preached from the 
Word, and the Christian church thereby established; but this 
could not be effected except by leaders who should act with 
zeal; and there were no others qualified, than such as were 
heated, as it were, with zeal, from the fire of self-love. This 
fire first excited them to preach the Lord and teach the Word; 
and from this their primitive state it is, that Lucifer is called 
the son of the morning (verse 12). But as they came to see, 
that they should be able to obtain dominion by means of the 
holy things of the Word and the church, self-love, by which 
they were first excited to preach the Lord, broke out from 
within, and at length exalted itself to such a height, that they 
transferred all the divine power of the Lord to themselves, not 
leaving him any. This could not be prevented by the Divine 
Providence of the Lord; for had it been prevented, they would 
haye proclaimed the Lord not to be God, and the Word not to 
be sacred, and would have become Socinians or Arians, and 
thus have destroyed the whole church; which, whatever may be 
the character of its rulers, still remains among the people who 
are under them. For all those of that religion also, who ap- 
proach the Lord, and shun evils as sins, are saved ; for which 
reason there are many celestial societies from them in the spiritual 
world; and it is also provided, that there should be among them 
a nation which has not submitted to the yoke of such a do- 
minion, and which considers the Word as sacred. This is the 
noble French nation. But what was the consequence? When 
selflove, which is Lucifer, had exalted its dominion even unto 
the throne of the Lord, had removed him thence, and placed 
itself upon it, it could not do otherwise than profane all things 
182 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 257, 258 


appertaining to the Word and the church; and to prevent this, 
the Lord so ordered it of his Divine Providence, that those who 
were under its influence should depart from the worship of him, 
invoke dead men, pray to their images, kiss their bones, prostrate 
themselves at their sepulchres, forbid the Word to be read, place 
the sanctity of divine worship in masses not understood by the 
vulgar, and sell salvation for money; because, if they had not 
done these things, they would have profaned the holy things of 
the Word and the church; for, as was shown in the preceding 
paragraph, none can profane things sacred but those who are 
acquainted with them. Therefore, that they may not profane 
the most holy supper, it is of the Divine Providence of the 
Lord that they should divide it, giving the bread to the people, 
and drinking the wine themselves; for the wine in the holy 
supper signifies holy truth, and the bread, holy good; but when 
they are divided, the wine signifies truth profane, and the bread 
good adulterated. It is provided, also, that they should make 
it corporeal and material, and account this doctrine to be a 
primary tenet of religion. He who attends to these particulars, 
and considers them in some illumination of mind, may see the 
wonderful operation of the Divine Providence, in guarding the 
holy things of the church, and saving all who are capable of 
being saved, snatching as it were out of the fire those who will 
suffer themselves to be snatched away. 

298. V. That the merely natural man confirms himself 
aguinst the Divine Providence from this corcumstance, that 
among those who profess the Christian religion, there are some 
who place salvation in certain words which they think and speak, 
and not in any good they do. That persons of this description 
are such as make salvation to consist in faith alone, and not in a 
life of charity, consequently, who separate faith from charity, is 
shown in Tae Docrring or tHe New Jervsaen CONCERNING 
Farrn; and also, that they are meant in the Word by the Philis- 
tines, the dragon, and the goats. That such a doctrine is also 
permitted, is of the Divine Providence, in order that the Lord’s 
divinity and the sanctity of the Word might not be profaned. 
The Lord’s divinity is not profaned, when salvation is placed in 
the uttering of these words, “That God the Father will have 
mercy for the sake of his Son, who suffered on the cross, and 
made satisfaction for us ;” for by using this form of words, they 
do not approach the Lord’s divinity, but his humanity, which 
they do not acknowledge to be divine. The Word also is not 
profaned; because they do not attend to those passages where 
mention is made of love and charity, of doing good, and of 
works. All these, they say, are contained in the faith of the 
above form of words; and those who confirm themselves herein, 
say to themselves, The law does not condemn me, nor therefore 


does evil; and good does not save me, because good from myself 
183 


258 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


is not good; therefore they are like those who do not know any 
truth from the Word, and on that account cannot profane it. 
But faith in the above form of words is not confirmed by any 
except those who from self-love are in the pride of self-derived 
intelligence, and who are not Christians in their hearts, but 
only desire to seem such. That nevertheless the Lord’s Divine 
Providence continually operates for,the salvation of those with 
whom faith separated from charity is made the ground of reli- 
gion, shall now be shown. It is of the Lord’s Divine Provi- 
dence, that although religion is made to consist in this faith, 
still every one knows that such faith does not save, but a life of 
charity with which faith acts as one: for in all the churches 
where this religion is received, it is taught, that there is no 
salvation, except a man examine himself, perceive his sins, ac- 
knowledge them, repent, desist from them, and lead a new life. 
This is read with much zeal before all those who approach the 
holy supper; and it is added, that unless they do this, they 
mix things holy and profane, and cast themselves into eternal 
damnation; and in England, indeed, that unless they do this, 
the devil will enter into them as he did into Judas, and destroy 
them both soul and body. Hence it is evident, that every one 
in the churches where faith alone is received, is nevertheless 
taught that evils are to be shunned as sins. Every one also 
who is born a Christian, knows that evils are to be shunned as 
sins, because the Decalogue is put into the hands of every boy 
and girl, and is taught by parents and masters. All the subjects 
of a kingdom, likewise, particularly the common people, are 
examined by the priest, out of the Decalogue, which they have 
learned by heart, what they know of the Christian religion, and 
are admonished to do the things therein contained. At such 
times, they are never told by any priest that they are not under 
the yoke of that law, or that they cannot do the things therein 
commanded, because they cannot do any good from themselves. 
The Athanasian Creed is also received by the whole Christian 
world; and what is said in the last part of it is acknowledged, 
namely, that the Lord will come to judge both the quick and 
the dead, when those who HAVE DoNE goon will enter into ever- 
lasting life, and those who HAVE DONE EVIL into everlasting 
fire. In Swepen, where the religion of faith alone is received, 
it is also plainly taught, that there is no faith separate from 
charity, or without good works; and in a certain memorial 
annexed and inserted in all the books of the Psalms, which is 
entitled Jmpediments or Stumbling Blocks to the Impenitent 
(OxorrerpicAs Forrmnprr), there are these words: ** Those 
who are rich in good works, show thereby that they are rich in 
faith, because when faith is saving it operates by charity; for 
justifying faith never exists alone and separate from good works; 
as there is no good tree without fruit, no sun without light and 
184 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 258, 259 


heat, and no water without moisture.” These few things are ad- 
duced that it may be known, that although the religion of faith 
alone is received, yet the goods of charity, which are good 
works, are everywhere taught; and that this is of the Lord’s 
Divine Providence, lest the common people should thereby be 
seduced. I have heard Luther, with whom I have sometimes 
conversed in the spiritual world, curse Solifidianism, and say, 
that when he established it, he was warned by an angel of the 
Lord not to do it; but that he thought within himself, that if 
he did not reject works, no separation from the Roman Catholic 
religion would be effected; for which reason he confirmed that 
faith, contrary to the warning he had received. 

259. VI. That the merely natural man confirms himself 
against the Divine Providence, because there have been, and still 
are, so many heresies in the Christian world, such as those of the 
Quakers, Moravians, Anabuptists, and others ; for he can think 
within himself, that if the Divine Providence, by means of its 
operation in every particular, were universal, and had in view 
the salvation of all, it would have established one true religion 
throughout the world, and not have suffered it to be divided, 
much less torn to pieces by heresies. But use your reason, and, 
if you are able, reflect with more elevation of mind; then tell 
me, can a man be saved unless he be first reformed? For he js 
born into the love of self and of the world; and as these loves 
do not contain in them any love towards God, or towards his 
neighbour, except for the sake of self, he is also born into all 
kinds of evils: for, is there a single spark of love or mercy in 
those loves? Does he make any account of defrauding another, 
blaspheming him, hating him even to death, committing adul- 
tery with his wife, and raging against him when he is in a 
revengeful humour? because as the thing nearest to his heart is, 
that he may be supreme over all, he consequently considers 
others in comparison with himself as vile, and of no estimation. 
In order that such a one may be saved, must he not first be 
drawn away from these evils, and so be reformed? That this 
cannot be effected except in conformity to several laws, which 
are laws of the Divine Providence, is fully shown above. These 
laws are for the most part unknown, and yet they are laws of 
the divine wisdom, and at the same time of the divine love, 
against which the Lord cannot act; for to act against them, 
would be to destroy man, and not to save him. Read over again 
the laws which have been adduced, consider them, and you will 
perceive this. Since therefore it is conformable to those laws, 
that there should not be any immediate influx from heaven, but 
mediate through the Word, through doctrines and preachings ; 
and since the Word, that it might be divine, could not be 
written except by mere correspondences, it follows, that dissen- 
sions and heresies are inevitable, and that the permission of 

185 


259, 260 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


these is also according to the laws of the Divine Providence; 
especially, when the church itself had assumed for its essentials 
such things as belong to the understanding only, thus to doc- 
trine; and not to the will, thus to the conduct of life. When 
the things which have relation to life are not made essentials of 
the church, then a man with respect to his understanding is in 
mere darkness, and gropes about like a blind man, who is ever 
stumbling, and falling into ditches; for the will must see in the 
understanding, and not the understanding in the will; or, what 
amounts to the same, the life and its love must lead the under- 
standing to think, speak, and act, and not the contrary; for 
were the contrary the case, the understanding might from an 
evil, and even from a diabolical love, catch at whatever might 
impress the senses, and enjoin the will to do it. From these 
considerations it may be seen whence dissensions and heresies 
exist. It is however provided, that every one, in whatever 
heresy he may be with respect to his understanding, may still 
be reformed and saved, provided he shuns evils as sins, and 
does not confirm heretical falsities in himself; for by shunning 
evils as sins the will is reformed, and by the will the under- 
standing, which then first emerges out of darkness into light. 
There are three essentials of the church,—an acknowledgment 
of the Lord’s divinity, an acknowledgment of the holiness of 
the Word, and the life which is called charity. Every man’s 
faith is conformable to his life, that is, his charity. From the 
Word he has a knowledge of what his life ought to be, and 
from the Lord he has reformation and salvation. If these three 
had been held as essentials of the church, intellectual dissen- 
sions would not have divided it, but only have varied it; as the 
light varies colours in beautiful objects, and as a variety of jewels 
constitutes the beauty of a kingly crown. 

260. VIL. Lhat the merely natural man confirms himself 
against the Divine Providence, because Judaism still continues ; 
that is, because the Jews, after the lapse of so many ages, are 
not converted, although they live among Christians, and do not. 
according to the predictions in the Word confess the Lord, and 
acknowledge him as the Messiah, who, as they imagine, is to 
lead them back into the land of Canaan, but constantly persist 
in denying him, and yet it continues well with them. But 
those who think thus, and for that reason call in question the 
Divine Providence, do not know that by the Jews in the Word 
are meant all who are of the church and acknowledge the Lord, 
and that by the land of Canaan, into which it is said they are 
to be introduced, is meant the Lord’s church. The reason, 
however, why they persevere in denying the Lord, is, hecause 
they are of such a disposition, that if they were to receive and 
acknowledge the Lord’s divinity, and the holy things of his 
church, they would profane them; therefore the Lord says of 

186 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 260—262 


them, “He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart ; 
that they should not see with their eyes, or understand with 
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them” (John 
xl. 40; Matt. xiii. 14; Mark iv. 12; Luke viii. 10; Isaiah vi. 
9,10). It is said, lest they should be converted, and I should 
heal them, because if they had been converted and healed, they 
would have been guilty of profanation; and it is a law of the 
Divine Providence, as was shown above, n. 221—283, that no 
one is interiorly admitted by the Lord into the truths of faith 
and the goods of charity, except so far as he can be kept in 
them to the end of life; and were it not so, he would profane 
things holy. This nation is preserved, and scattered over a 
great part of the earth, for the sake of the Word in its original 
language, which they hold more sacred than Christians do; and 
in every particular of the Word is the divinity of the Lord, for 
it is divine truth united to divine good, which proceeds from the 
Lord, and by which the Word is the conjunction of the Lord 
with the church and the presence of heaven, as is shown in 
Tae Doctrine or tar New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED 
SCRIPTURE, n. 62—69; and there is the presence of the Lord 
and of heaven wherever the Word is read with devotion. This 
is the end which the Divine Providence has in view, in presery- 
ing and dispersing them over a great part of the world. What 
is the nature of their lot after death, may be seen in Tur Con- 
TINUATION CONCERNING THE Last JUDGMENT AND THE SprrirvAL 
Wortp, n. 79—82. 

261. These then are the circumstances adduced above, n. 
238, by which the natural man does or may confirm himself 
against the Divine Providence: there follow some others, men- 
tioned above, n. 239, which may also serve the natural man as 
arguments against the Divine Providence, and may likewise 
occur to the minds of others, and suggest some doubts; these 
are,— 

262. I. That a doubt may be inferred agwinst the Divine 
Providence, because the whole Christian world worship God under 
three persons, which is, three gods ; and because hitherto they have 
not known that God is one in person and im essence, in whom 
there is a trinity, and that that God is the Lord. The reasoner 
concerning the Divine Providence may say, Are not three 
persons three Gods, when each person by himself is God? Who 
can think otherwise; or who, indeed, does think otherwise ? 
Athanasius himself could not think otherwise ; and therefore, in 
the creed which has its name from him, he says, “As we are 
compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every person 
by himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the 
Catholic religion to say there be three Gods or three Lords i 
by which words nothing else can be understood, than that we 
“ust a acknowledge three Gods and three Lords, but that we 


262 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


ought not to say there are three Gods and three Lords. Who 
can possibly have a perception of one God, who is not also one 
in person? If it be alleged, that it is possible to have such a 
perception, provided you think that the three persons have one 
essence,—whe from thence does or can perceive any thing else, 
than that in such case they are unanimous, and consenting, 
but yet that they are three Gods? and if a man elevates his 
thoughts, he says within himself, How can the divine essence, 
which is infinite, be divided? and how can it from eternity 
beget another, and even produce a third, who proceeds from 
both? It may be said, that this is to be believed, and ought 
not to be thought of; but who does not think of that which he 
is told he ought to believe? and how otherwise can there be 
any acknowledgment, which is the essence of faith? Did not 
Socinianism and Arianism, which reign in the hearts of more 
people than you imagine, take their rise from thinking of God 
as of three persons? <A belief in one God, and that that one 
God is the Lord, constitutes the church; for in him there is a 
divine trinity. That this is true, may be seen in Tur Docrrine 
or THE New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE Lorp, from beginning 
toend. But what is thought of the Lord at this day? Is it 
not thought that he is God and man,—God from Jehovah his 
Father, of whom he was conceived, and man from the Virgin 
Mary, of whom he was born? Who thinks, that God and man 
in him, or his divinity and his humanity, are one person, and 
that they are one as the soul and body are one? Does any 
one know this? Ask the doctors of the church, and they will 
say that they have not known it, when, nevertheless, it is the 
doctrine of the Church received throughout the whole Christian 
world, which is as follows: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son 
of God, is God and man; and although he be God and man, 
yet he is not two, but one Christ; one, by taking of the manhood 
into God; one altogether, by unity of person; for as the soul 
and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ.” This is 
taken from the creed of Athanasius. The reason why they have 
not known it, is, because when they read it, they did not think 
of the Lord as God, but only asa man. If the same be asked 
whether they know of whom he was conceived,—whether of 
God the Father, or of his own divinity,—they will answer that 
he was conceived of God the Father, for this is according to 
Scripture. Are not the Father and he one then, as the soul and 
body are one? Who can think that he was conceived of two 
divinities, and if of his own divinity, that this was his Father? 
If you ask them again, What is your idea of the Lord’s divinity, 
and what of his humanity? they will say that his divinity is 
from the essence of the Father, and his humanity from the 
essence of the mother, and that his divinity is with the Father. 
If you then ask, where is his humanity, they will make no 
188 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 262 


answer; for they separate in idea his divinity from his human- 
ity, and make his divinity equal to that of the Father, and his 
humanity similar to that of another man; not knowing, that in 
so doing, they also separate soul and body; nor seeing the 
contradiction, that in this case he would have been born a ra- 
tional man from the mother alone. In consequence of the idea 
entertained concerning the Lord’s humanity, that it was like 
that of another man, it is now come to pass, that a Christian 
cannot without difficulty be led to think of A Divine Human 
Being, although it should be said that the Lord’s soul or life 
was from conception, and is, Jehovah himself. Collect these 
reasons now, and consider whether there be any other God of 
the universe than the Lord alone, in whom is the all-creating 
Divine itself which is called the Father, the Divine Human 
which is called the Son, and the Divine Proceeding which is 
called the Holy Spirit; thus, that God is one in person and in 
essence, and that that God is the Lord. If you insist and Say, 
that the Lord himself named three in Matthew, saying, “Go and 
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (xxviii. 19); I answer, it is 
evident irom the preceding and following verses, that he said 
this, in order that it might be known that in himself now glori- 
fied there was a divine trinity. In the verse immediately pre- 
ceding, he says, that all power was given to him in heaven and 
in earth; and in the succeeding verse, that he would be with 
them until the consummation of the age; consequently, he speaks 
of himself alone, and not of three. Now, with respect to the 
Divine Providence, and the reason why it has permitted Chris- 
tians to worship one God under three persons, which amounts to 
the same as three Gods, and that hitherto they have not known 
that God is one in person and essence, in whom there is a trinity, 
and that that God is the Lord,—the reason does not exist in 
the Lord, but in man himself. The Lord taught it manifestly 
in his Word, as may appear from all the passages quoted in 
Tue Docrrine or tur New JerusaALeM CONCERNING THE Lorp ; 
and he also taught it in the doctrine of all the churches, in 
which it is insisted that his divinity and his humanity are not 
two, but one person, united like soul and body. But the reason 
why they divided his divinity and humanity, and made his 
divinity equal to that of Jehovah the Father, and his humanity 
equal to that of another man, was, because the church after its 
establishment lapsed into Babylon, which transferred to itself 
the divine power of the Lord; yet, that it might not be called 
divine power, but human, they made the Lord’s humanity simi- 
lar to that of another man. Afterwards also, when the church 
was reformed, and faith alone received as the only means of 
salvation (which is, that God the Father would have mercy for 
the ne of his Son), the Lord’s humanity could not be viewed 
89 


262, 263 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


in any other light. The reason why it could not, is, that no one 


can approach the Lord, and acknowledge him in his heart as 


the God of heaven and earth, but he who lives according to his 
commandments. In the spiritual world, where every one is 
obliged to speak as he thinks, no one can even name Jesus, un- 
less he has lived in the world as a Christian; and this from his 
Divine Providence, lest his name should be profaned. 

263. But in order that what has now been said may appear 
more clearly, I will add what is adduced in Tue Docrrine or 
cue New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE Lorp, towards the end, 
n. 60, 61, which is as follows: “That God and man in the 
Lord are, according to the doctrine stated, not two, but one 
person, and altogether one, as the soul and body are one, ap- 
pears clearly from many declarations of the Lord himself; as, 


that the Father and he are one; that all things of the Father _ 


are his, and all his the Father’s; that he is in the Father, and 
the Father in him; that all things are given into his hand; 
that he has all power; that he is the God of heaven and earth ; 
that he who believes in him has eternal life; and that the wrath 
of God abides on him who does not believe in him: moreover, 
that he ascended into heaven, both as to his divinity and his 
humanity, and that, with respect to both, he sits on the right 
hand of God, which means that he is Almighty; besides many 
passages from the Word, concerning his divine humanity, which 
are copiously quoted in the former part of this work, and all of 
which testify, that God 7s one as well in person as an essence, 
that in him is a trinity, and that that God is the Lord. The 
reason why these things relative to the Lord are now for the 
first time made publicly known, is, because it is foretold in the 
Revelation (xxi. and xxii.) that a new church, in which this 
doctrine will hold the chief place, should be established by the 
Lord at the end of the former. This church is what is meant 


by the New Jerusalem there mentioned, into which none can 


enter but those who acknowledge the Lord alone as the God of 
heaven and earth: therefore this church is there called the wire 
or roe Lams. Iam also enabled to declare, that the universal 
heaven acknowledges the Lord alone; and that whoever does 
not acknowledge him is not admitted therein. For heaven de- 
rives all that makes it heaven solely from the Lord; and it is 
the acknowledgment of this, from love and faith, which causes 
all its inhabitants to be in the Lord, and the Lord in them; as 
he himself teaches in John: ‘ At that day ye shall know that I 
am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in yow (xiv. 20). And 
again: ‘Abide in me,and Tin you. Iam the vine, ye are the 
branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same 
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 
If a man abide not in me, he is cast out’ (xv. 4, 5, 6; xvu. 
92,23). The reason why this doctrine concerning the Lord 
190 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 263, 264 


was not seen from the Word before, is, because if it had, it 
still would not have been received, in consequence of the last 
judgment’s not being accomplished. Man, while in the world, 
stands in the midst between heaven and hell; and before the 
last judgment, the power of hell prevailed over that of heaven ; 
whence, had this doctrine been seen before, the devil, that is, 
hell, would have plucked it from the heart, and would, more- 
over, have profaned it. This state of predominance on the part 
of hell, was altogether crushed by the last judgment, which is 
now accomplished. Since which event, that is, now, it is in 
the power of every one, who desires it, to become enlightened 
and wise.” | 

264. Ul. Zhat a doubt may be inferred against the Divine 
Providence, because heretofore it was not known that in every 
particular of the Word there ts a spiritual sense, and that therein 
ats holiness consists : for it may be suggested as a doubt against 
the Divine Providence, Why is this revealed now for the first 
time, and why by this or that person, and not by any primate 
of the church? But whether he be a primate or the servant of 
a primate, is according to the good pleasure of the Lord, who 
knows both the one and the other. The reason why that sense 
of the Word was not revealed before, is, I. Because, if it had 
been, the church would have profaned it, and thereby have pro- 
faned the sanctity of the Word itself. II. That the genuine 
truths also, in which the spiritual sense of the Word consists, 
were not revealed by the Lord, till after the last judgment was 
performed, and a new church, which is meant by the Holy Jeru- 
salem, was about to be established by the Lord. These articles, 
however, shall be examined separately. First, That the spi- 
ritual sense of the Word was not revealed before, because if it 
had, the church would have profaned it, and thereby have pro- 
Janed the sanctity of the Word etself. ‘The church, not long after 
its establishment, was converted into Babylon, and afterwards 
into Philistea; and Babylon does indeed acknowledge the Word, 
but yet contemns it, saying, that the Holy Ghost inspires them 
in their supreme judgment, equally as much as it inspired the 
prophets. They acknowledge the Word for the sake of the 
vicarship founded on the Lord’s words to Peter; but yet they 
contemn it, because it does not accord with their views. For 
that reason, also, it is taken from the people, and hid in mo- 
nasteries, where there are but few who read it; therefore, if the 
spiritual sense of the Word, in which is the Lord, and at the 
same time all angelic wisdom, had been revealed, the Word 
would have been profaned, not only as is now the case, in its 
ultimates, which are contained in the literal sense, but also in 
its internal or inmost meaning. Philistea, by which is meant 
faith separate from charity, would also have profaned the spirit- 
ual ponte of the Word, because, as was shown before, it places 

91 


964 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


salvation in certain words which are to be thought and spoken, 
and not in any good that is to be done; thus making that a 
saving principle which is not saving, and removing the under- 
standing from things which ought to be believed. And what 
‘have such persons to do with the light in which is the spiritual 
sense of the Word? Would it not be turned by them into 
darkness? When the natural sense is turned into darkness, 
what would the spiritual sense be? Is there any one of those 
who have confirmed themselves in faith separate from charity, 
and in justification by it alone, that desires to know what is 
the good of life, or, what is love to the Lord and towards their 
neighbour, or what is charity, what the goods of charity, what 
good works, and what it is to do, yea, what faith is in its essence, 
or any genuine truth that constitutes it? They write volumes, 
and confirm nothing but what they call faith, saying that all 
the things above recited are contained in that faith. From 
which it is evident, that if the spiritual sense of the Word had 
been revealed before, the case would have been according to 
what the Lord says in Matthew: “If thine eye be evil, thy 
whole body shall be full of darkness; if, therefore, the light 
that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness !”’ (vi. 
23). By eye, in the spiritual sense of the Word, is meant the 
understanding. Srconpry, That the genuine truths also, of 
which the spiritual sense of the Word consists, were not revealed 
by the Lord, tall after the last judgment was accomplished, and 
the New Church, which is meant by the Holy Jerusalem, was 
about to be established by the Lord. It is foretold by the Lord 
in the Revelation, that after the last judgment is accomplished, 
genuine truths are to be revealed, a new church established, 
and the spiritual sense of the Word disclosed. That the final 
judgment is now accomplished, is shown in a small work con- 
cerning the Lasr Jupement, and in Tre Continuation of that 
work; and that this is meant by the heaven and earth which 
are to pass away, mentioned in the Revelation, xxi. 1. That 
genuine truths are then to be revealed, is foretold by these 
words in the Revelation: ‘“ He that sat upon the throne said, 
Behold, I make all things new” (verse 5; also, chap. xix. 17, 
18; xxi. 18—21; xxii. 1, 2). That the spiritual sense of the 
Word is then to be revealed is foretold in chap. xix. 11—16, 
and it is denoted by the white horse, upon which he who sat 
was called the Word of God, who was the Lord of lords, and 
King of kings; on which subject the little work concerning 
Tux Wirre Horse may be consulted. That by the Holy 
Jerusalem is meant the New Church, which was then to be 
established by the Lord, may be seen in Tur Docrrine or THE 
Nrw JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE Lorp, n. 62—65, where it is 
demonstrated. Hence then it is evident, that the spiritual 
sense of the Word was to be revealed for a New Church, which 
192 


ie 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 264,265 


will acknowledge and worship the Lord alone, hold his Word 
sacred, love divine truths, and reject faith separated from cha- 
rity. In relation to this sense of the Word more may be seen 
in Tse Docrrins or tHE New JERvsaALEM CONCERNING THE 
SacreD Scrrprure, n. 5—26; as, what the spiritual sense of 
the Word is, n. 5—26; that there is a spiritual sense in all and 
every particular of the Word, n. 9—17; that it is by virtue of 
the spiritual sense that the Word is of divine inspiration and 
holy in every single expression, n. 18, 19; that the spiritual 
sense of the Word has been heretofore unknown, and why it 
was not revealed before, n. 20—25; and that henceforth the 
spiritual sense of the Word will be opened to none but those 
who are principled in genuine truths from the Lord, n. 26. 
From these considerations, then, it may appear that it is of the 
Lord’s Divine Providence that the spiritual sense has been con- 
cealed from the world until the present age, and has hitherto 
been preserved in heaven among the angels, who derive their 
wisdom from it. This sense was known, and also cultivated, 
among the ancients who lived before Moses; but as their pos- 
terity converted the correspondences, of which their Word and 
consequently their religion solely consisted, into various idola- 
tries, and the Egyptians into magic, it was, for the reasons 
above-mentioned, closed or shut up, by the Divine Providence 
of the Lord, first among the children of Israel, and afterwards 
among the Christians, and is now first opened for the Lord’s 
New Church. 

265. IL. That a doubt may be inferred against the Divine 
Providence, because heretofore it was not known that the very 
essence of the Christian religion consists in shunning evils as sins. 
That this is the very essence of the Christian religion is shown 
in Tue Docrrinr or Lire ror tor New J ERUSALEM, from 
beginning to end; and because faith separated trom charity is 
the only obstacle to its being received, that also is treated of. 
It is said that heretofore it was not known that the very essence 
of the Christian religion consists in shunning evils as sins, 
because almost everybody is ignorant of this, and yet every one 
is taught it,as may be seen above, n. 258. The reason why 
almost everybody is ignorant of it, is, because Solifidianism has 
erased it from the mind; for this teaches that faith alone saves, 
and not any good work or good of charity; also, that they are 
no longer under the yoke of the law, but at liberty. Those who 
frequently hear such doctrines, no longer think’ of any evil of 
life, or of any good of life; for every man by nature is inclined 
to embrace that idea, and when it is once embraced, he no 
longer thinks of the state of his life. This is the reason why 
the above is not known. That it is not known was discovered 
to me in the spiritual world. I questioned above a thousand 
who were newly arrived from this world, whether they knew 

193 


265, 274 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


that the essence of religion consisted in shunning evils as sins; 
and they said that they did not know it; that it was a new 
thing never before heard of; but that they had heard they could 
not do any good from themselves, and were not under the yoke 
of the law. When I asked, if they did not know that it was a 
man’s duty to examine himself, to ‘see his sins, repent of them, 
and lead a new life; that otherwise sins are not forgiven, and 
if sins are not forgiven there is no salvation; and that this was 
read aloud to them as often as they received the holy supper; 
they answered, that they did not attend to those things, but 
only to this, that by means of the Lord’s Supper their sins are 
forgiven, and that faith, without their knowledge, operates the 
rest. Again I asked, Why did you teach your children the 
Decalogue? Was it not that they might know what evils are 
sins which are to be shunned? Was it that they might only 
know and believe, and not act accordingly? Why then do you 
say that this is anew thing? To this they could make no other 
answer than that they knew it, and yet did not know it, and 
that they never thought of the seventh commandment when 
they committed adultery, or of the eighth when they committed 
theft or acted fraudulently, and so on; much less, that such 
things are contrary to the divine law, and consequently offences 
against God. When I mentioned several things from the doc- 
trines of the churches, and from the Word, in confirmation of 
my assertion, that to shun evils as sins, and hold them in 
aversion, is the very essence of the Christian religion, and that 
every one is gifted with faith in proportion as he shuns and 
holds them in aversion, they were silent; but they were con- 
firmed in the truth of it when they saw that all were examined 
as to their lives, and judged according to their actions, and no 
one according to his faith unconnectedly with his life, because 
the faith of every one is conformable to his life. The reason 
why the Christian world for the most part did not know this, 
exists in that law of the Divine Providence whereby every one 
is left to act from liberty according to reason, which see above, 
n. 71—99, and n. 100—128; also in the law, whereby it is ap- 
pointed that no one is taught immediately from heaven, but 
mediately through the Word, doctrine, and preachings out of 
it, concerning which see above, n. 154—174: and likewise in 
all the laws of permission, which also are laws of the Divine 
Providence. More may be seen above respecting these, n. 258. 

974. IV. That a doubt may be inferred against the Divine 
Providence, because it was not known heretofore that a man lives 
as a man after death, and this was not discovered till now. 
The reason why this was not known, is, because in those who 
do not shun evils as sins, there lies inwardly concealed a belief 
that a man does not live after death, and therefore they think 
it of no importance whether it be said that a man lives after 

194 


7 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. O74 


death, or that he will rise again at the day of judgment. If one 
happens to have any belief in a resurrection, he says to himself, 
I shall not fare worse than others; for if I go to hell, I shall 
have many to accompany me, and also if to heaven. Yet all 
who have any religion have in them an inherent knowledge that 
men live after death. The idea that they live as souls, and not 
as men, takes place with those, and with those only, who are 
infatuated by their own self.derived intelligence. That every 
one who has any religion in him has an inherent knowledge that 
a man lives after death, may appear from the following con- 
siderations. 1. Who thinks otherwise when he is dying? 2. 
What panegyrist, in his lamentation over the dead, does not send 
them to heaven, place them among the angels, in conversation 
with them, and partaking their joys? Not to mention the 
apotheosis of some. 3. Who among the vulgar does not believe, 
that when he dies, if he has lived well, he shall go to a heavenly 
Paradise, be clothed in a white garment, and enjoy life ever- 
lasting? 4. Where is the preacher who does not say these 
things, or the like, to those who are on their death-bed? And 
when he says them, he believes them himself, provided he does 
not at the time think of the last judgment. 5. Who is there 
that does not believe that his children are in heaven, and that 
he shall see his wife, whom he has loved, after death? Who 
ever supposes they are spectres, much less that they are souls 
or minds hovering about in the universe? 6. Who contradicts, 
when any thing is said of the lot and state of those who have 
passed from time to eternity? I have told many of the state 
and lot of such and such persons, and I have never yet heard 
any one say, that their lot was not yet decided, but that it 
would be so at the last judgment. 7. Who, when he sees angels 
painted or carved, doés not acknowledge that they are such 2 
Who ever imagines at such times that they are spirits without a 
body, airs, or clouds, as some of the learned do? 8. The papists 
believe their saints to be men in heaven, and others elsewhere , 
the Mahometans think the same of their dead ; So do the Afri- 
cans more especially, and in like manner many other nations: 
what then ought not reformed Christians to do, who know it 
from the Word? 9. It is also owing to this knowledge, inherent 
in every one, that some aspire after immortal fame; for this 
knowledge is converted into the love of such fame with some, 
and makes them heroes and valiant in war. 10. Inquiry was 
made in the spiritual world, whether this knowledge is inherent 
in all; and it was found, that it is so in the spiritual idea of all, 
which is of the internal thought, but not so in their natural idea, 
which is of the external thought. From these considerations it 
may appear, that no one ought to entertain any doubt against 
the Divine Providence, because he thinks it is now first discovered 
that men live after death. It is only a man’s sensual mind 
195 N 


974—276 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


which desires to see and touch what is to be believed; and he 
whose thoughts are not elevated above this is involved in dark- 
ness with respect to the state of his life. 


THAT EVILS ARE PERMITTED FOR A CERTAIN END, WHICH IS 
SALVATION, 


275. Ir a man were born in the love in which he was 
created, he would not be in any evil, nor, indeed, would he 
know what evil is; for he who has not been, and thence is not 
in evil, cannot know what it is. If it should be said to him 
that this or that is evil, he would not believe it possible. This 
is the state of innocence, in which Adam and his wife Eve were ; 
and their nakedness, of which they were not ashamed, signified 
that state. The knowledge of evil after the fall is meant by . 
eating of:the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The love 
in which man was created is the love of his neighbour, that he 
may wish him as well as he wishes himself, and even better, 
and that he may be in the delight of that love when he does 

ood to him, just as a parent is in doing good to his children. 

his love is truly human; for in it there is something spiritual, 
whereby it is distinguished from natural love, which is common 
to brute animals. If aman were born into this love, he would 
not be born in the darkness of ignorance, as is now the case 
with every man, but in a certain light of knowledge, and thence 
of intelligence also, into which he would shortly enter, and 
indeed he would at first creep like a quadruped, but with an 
innate endeavour to raise himself upon his feet; for although he 
would creep, he would not look down to the ground, but upwards 
to heaven, and would, as it would be in his power to do, lift 
himself upright. 

276. But when the love of the neighbour was turned into 
the love of self, and this latter increased, then human love was 
turned into animal love, and man from being man became a 
beast, with this difference, that he could think that which he 
felt in the body, rationally distinguish one thing from another, 
could be instructed, made a civil and moral, and at length a 
spiritual man; because, as was observed, a man has a spiritual 
principle, by which he is distinguished from brute animals ; 
for by it he can know what is civil evil and good, what is moral 
evil and good, and also, if he will, what is spiritual evil and good. 
When the love of the neighbour was turned into self-love, man 
could no longer be born into the light of science and intelligence, 
but into the darkness of ignorance, because he was born totally 

196 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 276, 277 


in the ultimate of life, which is called the corporeal sensual 
principle; but from it he could by instruction be introduced 
into the interiors of the natural mind, something spiritual always 
attending. The reason why he is born in the ultimate of life, 
which is called the corporeal sensual principle, and consequently 
in the darkness of ignorance, will be seen in what follows. 
That the love of the neighbour and the love of self are opposite, 
any one may see; for the former wishes well to all from itself, 
but the latter wishes well to itself alone from all. A man in 
the love of his neighbour desires to serve all; but he who is in 
self-love desires to be served by all: the former considers all as 
his brothers and friends, but the latter considers all as his 
servants, and if they do not serve him, as his enemies: in a 
word, he considers himself alone, and others scarcely as men, 
whom in his heart he values less than his horses and dogs; and 
as he thinks them so vile, he makes no account of injuring them ; 
whence proceed hatred and revenge, adultery and fornication, 
thefts and frauds, lies and blasphemies, rage, cruelty, and the 
like. These are the evils in which every man is by birth. That 
these are permitted for a certain end, which is salvation, shall 
be demonstrated in the following order. I. That every man is 
in evil, and that he is to be withdrawn from evil that he may be 
reformed. II. That evils cannot be removed unless they appear. 
III. That in proportion as evils are removed, they are remitted. 
IV. That thus the permission of evil is for the sake of salvation 
as the end. 

277. I. That every man is in evil, and that he és to be with- 
drawn from evil that he may be reformed. That every man has 
hereditary evil, and that therefrom he is in the concupiscence 
of many evils, is well known in the church. Thence it is that 
aman from himself cannot do good; for evil does not do good, 
except it be such good as has evil lurking within it; which evil 
consists in his doing good for the sake of self, and thus doing 
what is good only in appearance. That this evil is hereditary 
from parents is well known. It is said to be from Adam and 
Eve; but this is a mistake: for every one is born into it from 
his parent, that parent from his parent, and so on, every one 
from his own parent respectively ; and thus it is successively 
transferred from one to another, by which it is increased and 
augmented abundantly, and is transmitted to posterity. Thence 
it is, that in man there is no health, or nothing sound, but that 
he is one entire mass of evil. Who is there that feels that to 
love himself more than others is evil, and who, therefore, knows 
that there is any evil in it ; when, nevertheless, it is the head 
of all evils? That it is inherited from fathers, grandfathers, 
and great-grandfathers, is evident from many circumstances 
which are generally known; as from the similarity of faces in 
houses, eee and, indeed, in whole nations, by which they 

19 


PAE ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


are distinguishable, faces being the types of minds, and the state 
of minds being conformable to their affections, which are of love. 
Sometimes, also, the face of the grandfather returns in the 
grandchild, or great-grandchild. I can tell from seeing the face 
only, whether a person is a Jew or not; also, from what stock 
some other people are derived; and I doubt not but there are 
others who can do the same. If the affections, which are of 
love, are thus derived and transmitted from parents, it follows 
that it is the same with evils, because these appertain to the 
affections. The cause of this resemblance shall now be explained: 
the soul of every one is from his father, and is only clothed with 
a body from his mother. That the soul is derived from the 
father, not only follows as a consequence from what has been 
said above, but is evident from other circumstances ; as, that 
the child of a negro or Moor, by a white or European woman, 
is born black, and vice versa ; and especially that the soul is in 
the seed, for from it impregnation is effected, and it is that 
which is clothed with a body from the mother; the seed being 
the primitive form of the love in which the father is,—the form 
of his ruling love, with its proximate derivations, which are the 
inmost affections of that love. These affections are in every one 
clothed in the decencies of moral life, and the goods which are 
partly of civil and partly of spiritual life; and these constitute 
the external of life even with the wicked. Every infant is born 
into this external of life, and hence it is that it is amiable; but 
as a man grows up and advances to mature age, he passes from 
that external to interiors, and at length to the ruling love of 
his father. If his father’s ruling love was evil, his love also 
becomes evil, unless tempered and bent by means of education ; 
and even then, as will be shown in what follows, evil is not 
extirpated, but only removed. Hence it is evident that every 
man is in evil. 

277. That a man is to be withdrawn from evil, in order that 
he may be reformed, is evident without explanation ; for he that 
is in evil in the world, is in evil after he goes out of it; and 
therefore if evil be not removed in the world, it cannot be re- 
moved afterwards. Where the tree falls, there it lies; so also 
it is with a man’s life. As it was at his death, such it remains. 
Every one also is judged according to his actions ; not that they 
are enumerated, but because he returns to them, and does the 
like again; for death is a continuation of life, with this differ- 
ence, that then the man cannot be reformed. All reformation 
is effected in a plenary manner, that is, in primaries and in 
ultimates at the same time; and ultimates are reformed in this 
world conformably to primaries; but they cannot be so after- 
wards, because the ultimates of life, which a man carries with 
him after death, are quiescent, and conspire, that is, act as one, 
with his interiors. 

198 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCR. _ 278 


278. Il. Zhat evils cannot be removed except they appear. 
It is not meant that a man is to do evils that they may appear, 
but that he is to examine himself, not his actions only, but also 
his thoughts, and as to what he would do if he were not afraid 
of the laws and of infamy; especially, what evils he considers 
in his spirit as allowable, and does not look upon as sins, for 
these he still commits. In order that a man may explore him- 
self, understanding is given him, and this separate from the 
will; that he may know, understand, and acknowledge what is 
good and what evil, and may also see the quality of his will, or 
what he loves and what he covets. That a man may see this, 
his understanding is gifted with superior and inferior, or interior 
and exterior thought, that from his superior or interior thought 
he may see what his will is doing in his inferior or exterior 
thought. This he sees as a man sees his face in a glass ; and 
when he sees it, and knows what sin is, he may, if he implores 
the help of the Lord, not will it, but shun it, and afterwards 
act against it; if not freely, still he may force himself to it by 
combat, and at length hold it in aversion and abominate it: 
then, and not before, he perceives and also feels that evil is evil 
and good is good. This, then, is examining or exploring him- 
self, seeing his sins, acknowledging them, confessing them, and 
afterwards desisting from them. As however there are few who 
know that the very essence of the Christian religion consists in 
this, because those only who do so have charity and faith, are 
led of the Lord, and do good from him, something shall be said 
of those persons who do not do so, and yet think they have 
religion in them. They are the following: 1. Those who con- 
fess themselves guilty of all sins, and do not search out any one 
sin in themselves. 2. Those who omit such inquiry from a 
principle of religion. 8. Those who, on account of worldly 
matters, do not think of sins, and consequently do not know 
them. 4. Those who favour them, and therefore cannot know 
them. 5. That in all these persons sins do not appear, and 
therefore cannot be removed. 6. Lastly, the hitherto unknown 
cause shall be laid open why evils cannot be removed, without 
the search, appearance, acknowledgment, confession thereof, 
and resistance thereto. 

These points however shall be viewed separately, because 
they are fundamentals of the Christian religion on man’s part. 
First, Of those who confess themselves guilty of all sins, and do 
not search out any sin in themselves. Such a one says, lam a 
sinner ; I was born in sin; there is no health in me from head 
to foot; Iam nothing but evil. Good God, have mercy upon 
me, forgive me, purify me, save me; cause me to walk in purity 
of life, and in the way of uprightness,—and the like; yet he 
does not examine himself, and consequently does not know any 
evil; and no one can shun that which he does not know, much 

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278 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


less fight against it. After his confession, he also thinks him- 
self clean and washed, when nevertheless he is unclean and un- 
washed from head to foot; for the confession of all is the quiet- 
ing or laying asleep of all, and at length the blinding of all: 
it is like something general without any particular, which is 
nothing. Srconpiy, Of those who omit such inquiry from a 
principle of religion. They are such especially as separate charity 
from faith: for such a one says to himself, Why should I inquire 
whether it be evil or good ?—why, whether it be evil, since evil 
does not condemn me? and why, whether it be good, since 
good does not save me? It is faith alone, thought of and pro- 
nounced with confidence and assurance, which justifies and 
purifies from all sin: and when T am once justified, I am pure 
in the sight of God. J am indeed in evil; but God wipes this 
away as soon as it is produced, and so it appears no more ;— 
not to mention other notions of the same kind. But who does 
not see, if he opens his eyes, that such are empty words, having 
no substance in them, because they have no good in them? 
Who may not think and speak thus, even with confidence and 
assurance, when at the same time he thinks of hell and eternal 
damnation? Does such a one desire to know any thing else, 
whether it be true, or whether it be good ¢ Of truth he says, 
what is truth but that which confirms such a faith? Of good 
he says, what is good but that which is in me from this faith 4 
But in order that it may be in me, I will not do it as from 
myself, because that is meritorious, and meritorious good is not 
real good. Thus he omits all things, until he does not know 
what evil is; and what then can he search out or see in himself? 
In this case, is not his state such, that the fire of the concu- 
piscences of evil being inclosed, consumes his interiors, and 
devastates them even to the gate, which he keeps shut lest the 
fire should appear? It is opened, however, after death, and 
then appears in the sight of every one. Tarpiy, Of those 
who, on account of worldly matters, do not think of sins, and 
consequently do not know them. ‘These are such as love the world 
above all things, and admit no truth which may withdraw them 
from the falsities of their religion, Such a one says to himself, 
What have I to do with this?’ I do not love to think of it. 
Thus they reject truth as soon as they hear it, and if they hear 
it, suffocate it. The case is nearly the same with them when 
they hear preachings, of which they retain only some of the 
words, but not any of the substance. As truths are treated by 
them in this manner, they do not know what good is, for truth 
and good act as one; and by good which is not grounded in 
truth no discovery is made of evil, except that it also may be 
called good, which is effected by reasoning from falsities. These 
are those who are meant by the seed which fell among thorns, 
of whom the Lord says, “Some fell among thorns; and the 
200 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 278 


thorns sprung up and choked them.” These also are those who 
“hear the Word, and the care of this world, and the deceitful- 
ness of riches, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful” 
(Matt. xiii. 7, 22; Mark iv. 7,14; Luke viii. 7, 14). Fourruty, 
Of those who favour sins, and therefore cannot know them. These 
are those who acknowledge God, and worship him according to 
the usual forms, but confirm themselves in the idea that any 
evil, which is a sin, is not a sin; for they disguise it by fallacies 
and appearances, and so hide its enormity ; having done which, 
they favour it, and make it friendly and familiar to them. It is 
said that those who acknowledge God do this; because others 
do not consider any evil as a sin, every sin being an offence 
against God. But this shall be illustrated by examples. He 
does not consider evil as sin who is covetous of money, and 
makes any species of fraud allowable, by reasons which he fabri- 
cates. It is the same with him who confirms himself in the 
lawfulness of revenge against enemies, and of committing depre- 
dations upon those who are not enemies in war. Fieracy, 
Lhat in these persons sins do not appear and therefore cannot be 
removed. All evil which does not appear kindles itself, being 
like fire among wood under the ashes; it is also like corrupted 
matter in a wound which is not laid open; for all evil which is 
obstructed increases, and does not cease until the whole is 
consummated. Therefore, lest any evil should be obstructed, 
it is permitted that every one should think either in favour of 
God or against God, in favour of the holy things of the church, 
or against them, and should not be punished for the same in 
this world. Concerning this evil the Lord says in Isaiah: 
“From the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no 
soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores : 
they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified 
with ointment. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil 
of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn 
to do good.” Then “although your sins be as scarlet, they 
shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, 
they shall be as wool. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be 
devoured by the sword” (i. 6, 16, 18, 20). To be devoured by 
the sword, signifies, to perish by the falsity of evil. Srxrny, 
The reason, hitherto concealed, why evils cannotbe removed with- 
out beng explored, appearing, being acknowledged, confessed, and 
resisted. In the preceding pages it is mentioned, that the 
universal heaven is arranged into societies according to the aftec- 
tions of good opposite to the concupiscences of evil. Every 
man, with respect to his spirit, is in some society,—in a celestial 
society if he is in the affection of good, and in an infernal 
society if he is in the concupiscence of evil. He does not 
know this while he lives in the world; but yet as to his spirit he 
Is in some society, without which he could not live, and through 
201 


278, 279 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


which he is governed by the Lord. If he is in an infernal 
society, he can only be brought out of it by the Lord, according 
to the laws of his Divine Providence, among which this is one, 
that a man must see that he is there, must desire to depart, and 
must himself endeavour to do it from himself. This he can do 
while he is in the world, but not after death; for then he abides 
to all eternity in the society into which he introduced himself 
when in the world. This is the reason why a man ought to 
examine himself, to see and acknowledge his sins, to repent of 
them, and then to persevere to the end of his life. That this 
is the case, I could fully and satisfactorily confirm by abundant 
experience; but to produce proofs from experience does not 
belong to this place. 

279. III. That in proportion as evils are removed, they are 
remitted. It is an error of the present age, to suppose that 
evils are separated from a man, and even cast out, when they 
are remitted; and that the state of a man’s life can be changed 
in a moment, even to its opposite, so that, from being wicked, 
he can be made good, consequently brought out of hell, and 
instantly translated to heaven, by the immediate mercy of the 
Lord. Those however who entertain this belief and opinion, do 
not in the least know what evil and good are, or any thing of the 
state of a man’s life. They are altogether ignorant that the affec- 
tions, which are of the will, are mere changes and variations of 
the state of the purely organic substances of the mind; that 
the thoughts, which are of the understanding, are mere changes 
and variations of their form; and that the memory is the per- 
manent state of these changes. From a knowledge of these 
things, it may be clearly seen, that no evil can be removed 
except successively; and that the remission of evil is not its 
removal. ‘These things are here asserted in a summary way 
only; but unless they are demonstrated, although they may be 
acknowledged, they cannot be comprehended ; and that which 
is not comprehended, is merely like a wheel turned about by 
the hand; therefore the propositions above mentioned shall be 
demonstrated separately in the same order in which they are 
adduced. Iirsr, That it is an error of the present age, to sup- 
pose that evils are separated, and even cast out, when they are 
remitted. That no evil into which a man is born, and which he 
actually imbibes, is separated from him, but that it is only 
removed so that it shall not appear, has been made known to 
me from heaven. Before that, I was in the belief entertained 
by most people in this world, that when evils are remitted, they 
are cast out, and are washed off and wiped away, as dirt from 
the face by water. This however is not the case with evils or 
sins ; they all remain; and, when they are remitted after re- 
pentance, are removed from the middle to the sides,—that 
which is in the-middle, as it is directly under the inspection, 

202 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 279 


appearing as in the light of day, and that which is at the sides 
appearing in the shade, and sometimes as it were in the dark. 
ness of night. And because evils are not separated, but only 
removed, that is, put away to the sides, and a man may be 
transferred from the middle to the circumference, it may also 
happen, that he can return to his evils, which he thought 
rejected ; for a man is of such a nature, that he can pass from 
one affection to another, and sometimes to an opposite one, 
thus, from one middle or centre to another, the affection which 
predominates constituting the middle or centre while the man 
is in it, for he is then in the delight and in the light of it. 
There are some men who, after death, are taken up by the 
Lord into heaven, because they have led a good life, but who 
still carry with them a belief, that they were cleansed and pure 
from sins, and, therefore, not in a state of guilt. These are at 
first clothed in white garments according to such persuasion, 
white garments signifying a state of purification from evils; 
but afterwards they begin to think, as they did in the world, 
that they are washed clean as it were from all evil, and, there- 
fore, begin to boast that they are no longer sinners like others, 
which persuasion it is difficult to separate from a certain exulta. 
tion of mind, and some degree of contempt for others in com- 
parison with themselves ; therefore, in order that this imaginary 
belief may be removed, they are then remanded from heaven, 
and let into the evils which they had contracted in the world, it 
being shown them, at the same time, that they are in hereditary 
evils, of which they knew nothing before. When they have 
been thus forced to acknowledge, that their evils are not sepa- 
rated from them, but only removed, so that of themselves they 
are impure, and, indeed, nothing but evil, that it is by the 
Lord that they are detained from evils, and kept in goods, and 
that this appears to them as from themselves, they are again 
taken up by the Lord into heaven. SEconpiy, Zhat it is an 
error of the present age to suppose that the state of a man’s life 
can be changed in a moment, so that Srom being wicked he can be 
made good, consequently brought out of hell, and instantly trans- 
tated into heaven, by the immediate mercy of the Lord. Those 
are in this error who separate charity ‘from faith, and place 
salvation in faith alone; for they imagine that the bare thinking 
and uttering of the words in which that faith is conveyed, pro- 
vided it be done with confidence and assurance, justifies and 
saves ; an effect which is also supposed by some to be momen- 
taneous, and if not before, about the last hour of a man’s life. 
Such persons cannot but think, that a man’s state of life may 
be changed in a moment, and that he may be saved by imme- 
diate mercy. That the mercy of the Lord however is not im- 
mediate, and that a man from being wicked cannot be made 
good in a moment, or be led out of hell and translated into 
203 


279 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


heaven, but by continual operations of the Divine Providence 
from his infancy to the end of his life, will be seen in the last 
section of this treatise. We will here only observe, that all the 
laws of the Divine Providence have for their end the reformation 
and thereby the salvation of man, consequently the inversion 
of his state, which by birth is infernal, to its opposite, which 
is celestial; and that this can only be effected progressively, as 
a man, receding from evil and its delight, enters into good and 
its delight. Turrpty, Zhat those who entertain this belief, do 
not in the least know what is evil and what is good : for they do 
not know, that evil is the delight of the concupiscence of acting 
and thinking contrary to divine order, while good is the delight 
of the affection of acting and thinking according to divine 
order; that there are myriads of concupiscences, which as in- 
gredients enter into and compose every evil; that there are 
myriads of affections, which, in like manner, enter into every 
good as its ingredients and compose it; and that these myriads 
of concupiscences and affections exist in such order and connec- 
tion in a man’s interiors, that it is not possible to change one, 
without at the same time changing the whole. Those who do 
not know this, may think or believe that evil, which appears to 
them as an entire one, can easily be removed, and that good, 
which also appears as a one, can be introduced into its place. 
These, as they do not know what evil is, and what good is, 
cannot but suppose that there is such a thing as momentaneous 
salvation, and immediate mercy; but that these are not pos- 
sible, will be seen in the last section of this treatise. Fourruty, 
That those who believe in momentaneous salvation and immediate 
mercy, do not know that the affections, which are of the will, are 
mere changes of the state of the purely organic substances of the 
mind ; that the thoughts, which are of the understanding, are 
mere changes and variations of their form ; and that the memory 
is the permanent state of those changes and variations. Who 
does not assent to the affirmation that affections and thoughts 
exist only in substances and their forms, which are the subjects 
of them? and as they exist in the brain, which is full of sub- 
stances and forms, they are called forms purely organic. No 
one, who thinks rationally, can do otherwise than laugh at the 
fantasies of those who suppose that affections and thoughts do 
not exist in substantiate subjects, but that they are vapours modi- 
fied by heat and light, like figures appearing in the air or ether: 
for thought can no more exist separate from its substantial form, 
than vision can exist without its form, which is the eye; hearing 
without its form, which is the ear; or taste without its form, 
which is the tongue. Inspect the brain, and you will see innu- 
merable substances and fibres, and that every part of it is 
organized. What need is there of any other than this ocular 
proof? But it may be asked, What is affection, and what is 
204 7 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 279 


thought, in their substantiate subjects? A satisfactory answer 
may be deduced from all and every thing in the. body, where 
there are many viscera, each fixed in its particular situation, 
and all performing their functions by changes and variations of 
their state and form. It is well known that they are severally 
engaged in their respective operations,—the stomach, the intes- 
tines, the kidneys, the liver, pancreas, and spleen, and likewise 
the heart and lungs, each in its respective oftice; all these ope- 
rations being effected only intrinsically or within themselves, 
and to be efiected intrinsically is to be effected by variations of 
state and form. Hence it may appear, that the operations of 
the purely organic substances of the mind are of a similar 
nature, with this difference only, that those of the organic sub- 
stances of the body are natural, while those of the organic 
substances of the mind are spiritual, and that both act together 
as a one by correspondences. There can be no ocular demon- 
stration of the changes and variations of state and form in the 
organic substances of the mind, which are affections and 
thoughts; but yet they may be seen, as it were, in a glass, by 
the changes and variations of the state of the lungs in speak- 
ing and singing, there being a correspondence ; for the sound 
of the voice in speaking and singing, and also the articulations 
of sound, which are the words in speech and the modulations 
of the voice in singing, are effected by the lungs; and sound 
corresponds to affection, and speech to thought. Sound and 
speech are also produced by affection and thought, and this by 
means of changes and variations of the state and form of the 
organic substances of the lungs, and from the lungs by the 
trachea or wind-pipe in the larynx and glottis, afterwards in the 
tongue, and, lastly, in the lips. The first changes and varia- 
tions of the state and form of sound are produced in the lungs, 
the second in the trachea and larynx, the third in the glottis py 
various openings of its orifice, the fourth in the tongue by its 
various applications to the palate and teeth, and the fifth in the 
lips by disposing them in various forms. Hence it may appear, 
that the mere changes and variations of the state of organic 
forms, successively continued, produce sounds and their articu- 
lations, which are speech and singing. Now as sound and 
speech are produced from no other source than the affections 
and thoughts of the mind,—for from the latter the former exist, 
and never without them,—it. is evident that the affections of 
the will are changes and variations of the state of the purely 
organic substances of the mind, and that the thoughts of the 
understanding are changes and variations of the form of those 
substances; similar to what takes place in the lungs. Since 
affections and thoughts are mere changes in the state of the 
forms of the mind, it follows that the memory is no other than 
the permanent state thereof; for all changes and variations of 
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OF 981 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


state in organic substances are of such a nature, that when 
once they become habitual, they are permanent. Thus the 
lungs are habituated to produce various sounds in the trachea, 
to vary them in the glottis, to articulate them in the tongue, 
and to modify them in the mouth; and when those organs are 
once habituated to them, such sounds are in them, and can be 
reproduced. That these changes and variations are infinitely 
more perfect in the organs of the mind than in the organs of 
the body, is evident from what is said in the treatise concerning 
Tue Divine Love and THE Drvinz Wispom, n. 119—204, where 
it is shown, that all perfections increase and ascend with degrees, 
and according to them. On this subject more may be seen 
below, n. 319. 

280. To suppose that when sins are remitted, they are also 
removed, is likewise an error of this age. Those are in this 
error who suppose their sins to be remitted by the sacrament of 
the Lord’s Supper, although they have not removed them from 
themselves by repentance; and those also are in this error who 
think to be saved by faith alone, as well as those who think to 
be saved by dispensations from the Pope. All these believe in 
immediate mercy and momentaneous salvation. When, however, 
this proposition is reversed it becomes a truth, namely, that when 
sins are removed they are also remitted: for repentance must 
precede remission, and without repentance there is no remission; 
therefore the Lord commanded his disciples to preach repentance 
for the remission of sins (Luke xxiv. 27); and John preached 
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Luke iii. 8). 
The Lord remits the sins of all men: he does not accuse and 
impute: yet he can only take them away according to the laws 
of his Divine Providence; for since he said to Peter (who asked 
him how often he should forgive his brother when he sinned 
against him, whether till seven times) that he ought to forgive 
him not only seven times, but seventy times seven (Matt. 
xviii. 21, 22), what then will not the Lord do, who is Mercy 
itself? 

281. IV. That thus the permission of evil is for a certain 
end, which ¢s salvation. It is well known that a man is in full 
liberty to think and will, but not in full liberty to speak and 
act whatever he thinks and wills: for he may think as an Atheist, 
deny God, and blaspheme the holy things of the Word and the 
church; he may even desire in word and deed utterly to destroy 
them; but this is prevented by civil, moral, and ecclesiastical 
laws; and he therefore inwardly cherishes such impious and 
wicked desires by thinking and wishing, and also intending 
them, but not by doing them. A man, who is not an Atheist, is 
also at full liberty to think on many things which are of evil, 
as frauds, lasciviousness, vindictiveness, and other insanities, 
which at times he also does. Who cannot believe that unless a 

206 


THE DIVINE. PROVIDENCE. 281, 282 


man had full liberty, he not only could not be saved, but would 
even totally perish? Hear now the cause of this. Every man 
from his birth is in evils of many kinds. These evils are in his 
will, and the things which are in the will are loved; for that 
which a man wills from his interior he loves, and that which 
he loves he wills; and the love of the will flows into the under- 
standing, there causing its delight to be felt. Hence it comes 
into the thoughts, and also into the intentions. If, therefore, 
aman were not permitted to think according to the love of his 
will, which is hereditarily inherent in him, that love would 
continue shut up, and would never appear to him; and that 
love of evil which does not appear is like an enemy lying in 
wait, or like corrupted matter in an ulcer, poison in the blood, 
and rottenness in the breast, which, if kept inclosed, will produce 
death. But when aman is permitted to think upon the evils 
of his life’s love, so far even as to intend them, they are cured 
by spiritual means, as diseases are by natural means. What a 
man’s quality would be were he not permitted to think according 
to the delights of his life’s love, shall now be shown. He would 
no longer be a man, for he would lose the two faculties which are 
. called liberty and rationality, in which humanity itself consists ; 
the delights of the above evils would occupy the interiors of his 
mind to such a degree, that they would open the door of it; 
and then he could not help speaking and acting in conformity 
with those evils; thus his insanity would not only be known 
to himself, but would also appear to the world; and at length 
he would not have the sense to cover his nakedness. But to 
prevent this being the case, he is permitted to think and will 
his hereditary evils, but not to speak and dothem. In the mean 
time he learns things civil, moral, and spiritual, which also enter 
into his thoughts, and remove these insanities; and thereby he 
is healed by the Lord; but yet no farther than to know how to 
keep the door shut, unless he also acknowledge a God, and im- 
plore his assistance, that he may be able to resist the above evils; 
and so far as he then resists, he does not admit them into his 
intentions, and at length, not even into his thoughts. Since 
then a man is at liberty to think as he pleases, to the end that 
his life’s love may come forth from its lurking place into the 
light of his understanding, and since otherwise he would not 
know any thing of his own evil, and consequently would not 
know how to expel it, it follows that it would increase in him to 
such a degree that there would be no possibility of amendment 
in him, and scarcely in his children, if he had any; for the evil 
of the parent is transmitted to his offspring. The Lord, however, 
provides that this may not be the case. 

282. The Lord could heal the understanding in every man, 
and so cause him to think not evil, but good, and this by means 
of Sa fears, by miracles, by speaking with the dead, and 

0 


989—984- ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


by visions and dreams; but to heal the understanding only is 
merely to heal the man outwardly; for the understanding with 
its thought is the external of a man’s life, and the will with its 
affection is its internal. The healing of the understanding alone, 
therefore, would be like a palliative, by which the interior 
malignity is closed up and prevented from coming out; so that 
it consumes first the neighbouring parts and afterwards the 
more remote, till the whole is mortified. It is the will itself 
which is to be healed, not by influx of the understanding into 
it, because that never takes place, but by instruction and ex- 
hortation from the understanding. If the understanding alone 
were healed, the man would become like a dead body embalmed, 
or covered over with fragrant aromatics and roses, which in a 
short time would contract such a stench from the corpse that no 
one could come near it. Such would be the case with celes- 
tial truths in the understanding, if the evil love of the will were 
obstructed. 

283. The reason why a man is permitted to think evils, even 
so far as to intend them, is, as was observed, that they may be 
removed by considerations of a civil, moral, and spiritual na- 
ture; as is the case when he thinks that they are contrary to 
justice and equity, to honesty and decency, and to goodness and 
truth, therefore contrary to the tranquillity, pleasure, and hap- 
piness of life. By these three considerations the Lord heals the 
love of a man’s will; and at first, indeed, by fear, afterwards 
by love. Still, however, evils are not separated and cast out 
from the man, but only removed and put away to the sides; 
and when they are there, and good is in the centre, they do not 
appear: for whatever is in the centre is directly under inspec- 
tion, and is seen and perceived: but it should be known that 
although good is in the centre, yet the man is not therefore in 
good, unless the evils which are at the sides tend downwards 
and outwards; if they look upwards or inwards, they are not 
removed ; for they still endeavour to return to the centre: they 
turn and look downwards or outwards, when the man shuns his 
evils as sins, and still more when he has an aversion to them; 
for he then condemns and devotes them to hell, and causes them 
to look thitherward. 

284. A man’s understanding is a recipient of good as well 
as of evil, and of truth as well as of falsity, but not his will, 
which must be either in evil or in good; it cannot be in both; 
for the will is the man ‘himself, and therein is his life’s love. 
But good and evil in the understanding are separated, like in- 
ternal and external; hence a man may be interiorly in evil, and 
exteriorly in good. Still, however, when a man is reformed, 
good and evil are committed, and there then exists a conflict or 
combat, which, if grievous, is called temptation, but if not, is 
like the fermentation of wine or wort. In such case, if good 

208 : 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 284, 285 


overcomes, evil with its falsities is removed to the sides, as the 
lees fall to the bottom of a vessel, and good becomes like gene- 
rous wine after fermentation, or clear liquor; but if evil over- 
comes, good with its truth is removed to the sides, and it be- 
comes turbid and foul like unfermented wine or liquor. This 
comparison of fermentation is used because leaven in the Word 
signifies the falsity of evil, as in Hosea vii. 4; Luke xii. 1; and 
other places. 


THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE IS EQUALLY WITH THE WICKED 
AND THE GOOD. 


285. In every man, whether he be good or evil, there are 
two faculties, one of which constitutes the understanding and 
the other the will. The faculty which constitutes the under- 
standing consists in his being able to understand and think, and 
thence is called rationality; and that which constitutes the will 
consists in his being able freely to think, and thence also to 
speak and act, provided it be not contrary to reason or ration- 
ality ; for to act freely is to act as often as he wills, and accord- 
ing as he wills. Since these two faculties are perpetual, and 
continual from primaries to ultimates in all and every par- 
ticular which a man thinks and does, and are not in the man 
from himself, but from the Lord, it follows that there is the 
Lord’s presence with and in these faculties in each particular, 
even in the most minute particulars of a man’s understanding 
and thought as well as of his will and affection, and thence in 
the most minute particulars of his speech and actions. Remove 
these faculties from the smallest particular, and you will not be 
able to think or speak it as aman. That a man is a man by 
virtue of these two faculties, that he can thereby think and 
speak, perceive goods and understand truths, not only such as 
are civil and moral, but also such as are spiritual, and can be 
reformed and regenerated,—in a word, that he can be joined to 
the Lord, and thereby live eternally, was abundantly shown 
above; and it was also shown that these two faculties are pos- 
sessed not only by good men, but also by the wicked. Now as 
these faculties are from the Lord, and are not appropriated to a 
man as his own, for that which is divine cannot be appropriated 
to a man as his own, but can be adjoined to him, and thence 
appear as his; and as this divine in a man exists in the most 
minute particulars appertaining to him, it follows, that the Lord 
governs things the most particular, in a wicked as well as in a 
good man; and it is the government of the Lord which is called 
the Divine Providence. 

209 


286, 287 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


286. Now as it is a law of the Divine Providence that a man 
should act freely according to reason, that is, from the two 
faculties, liberty and rationality; as it is also a law of the 
Divine Providence, that what he does should appear to the man 
as from himself, consequently as his own; and as it is moreover 
a law, that evils are to be permitted to the end that he may be 
led out of them, it follows, that a man may abuse these faculties, 
and from liberty according to reason confirm whatever he will; 
for he can make whatever he will a persuasion of his reason, 
whether it be reasonable in itself or not. Therefore some say, 
What is truth? Cannot I make true whatever I will? and does 
not also the world do'so? Yet he that can do this does it by 
reasonings. Assume a proposition the most false, and tell an 
ingenious person to confirm it, and he will doso. For example, 
tell him to prove that a man is a beast; or that the soul is like 
a little spider in its web, governing the body as the spider does 
by its threads; or that religion is nothing but a bond of con- 
straint; and he will prove any of these propositions, till it will 
appear true. And what is easier? for he does not know what 
is an appearance or what is a falsity, which from a blind belie 
is assumed as a truth. Hence it is that a man cannot see this 
truth, that the Divine Providence operates in the most minute 
particulars of the understanding and will, or what amounts to 
the same thing, in the most minute particulars of the thoughts 
and affections of every man, the wicked as well as the good. He 
confounds himself principally by supposing that in this case 
evils also would be from the Lord; nevertheless, that not the 
least evil is from the Lord, but that it is from man, by means 
of his confirming in himself the appearance that he thinks, wills, 
speaks, and acts from himself, will be seen in what now follows ; 
which, that it may be clearly understood, shall be demonstrated 
in this order. I. That the Divine Providence, not only with 
the good, but also with the wicked, is universal in things the 
most particular; and yet that it is not in their evils. IL. That 
the wicked continually lead themselves into evils, but that the 
Lord continually withdraws them from evils. III. That the 
Lord cannot entirely lead the wicked out of evil, and into good, 
s0 long as they consider selfderived intelligence to be all, and 
the Divine Providence nothing. IV. That the Lord governs hell 
by opposites, and the wicked who are in the world he governs in 
hell as to interiors, but not as to exteriors. . 

287. I. That the Divine Providence, not only with the good, 
but also with the wicked, is universal in things the most particu- 
lar, and yet that it is not in their evils. Tt was shown above that 
the Divine Providence is in the minutest particulars of men’s 
thoughts and affections; by which it is meant that a man can 
think and will nothing from himself, but that all he thinks and 
wills, and thence speaks and does, is by influx,—by influx from 

210 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 287—289 


heaven if it is good, and by influx from hell if it is evil’; or, 
what amounts to the same, that good is by influx from the 
Lord, and evil from man’s proprium. I know, however, that 
this is difficult to be comprehended ; because a distinction is 
made between that which flows in from heaven, or from the 
Lord, and that which flows in from hell, or from.man’s proprium q 
while it is said, notwithstanding, that the Divine Providence js 
in the minutest particulars of a man’s thoughts and affections, 
so that he can think and will nothing from himself; and because 
it is said, that he can also think and will from hell, and trom 
his proprium, this appears like a contradiction ; but yet it is not. 
That it is not a contradiction will be seen in what follows, after 
Some things are premised which will illustrate this matter. 

288. All the angels of heaven confess that no one can think 
from himself, but only from the Lord ; but all the spirits of hell 
affirm that no one can think from any other than himself; 
though sometimes it has been shown to the latter, that not one 
of them thinks from himself, or can do it, but that thought 
flows in. In vain, however, was this shown them, for the 
would not receive it. Experience however shall teach, first, 
that the whole of thought and affection, even in the infernal 
Spirits, flows in from heaven; but that influent good is there 
turned into evil, and truth into falsity, thus every thing into its 
opposite. This was proved by the following experiment. There 
was let down out of heaven a certain truth from the Word; it 
was received by those who were in the superior hells, sent down 
from them to the inferior hells, and so on to the lowest; in its 
passage it was successively turned into falsity, and at length 
Into such falsity as was directly opposite to that truth. Those 
among whom it was so changed thought the falsity from them- 
selves, and knew no otherwise ; when, nevertheless, what they 
thought was that truth descending from heaven so falsified and 
perverted in its way to the lowest hell. I have heard that this 
was done three or four times. The case is the same with good, 
which in its descent from heaven is progressively turned into 
evil opposite to such good. Thence it was evident, that truth 
and good proceeding from the Lord, when received by those 
who are in falsity and evil, is changed, and passes into another 
form, so that its first form does not appear. Thus it is with 
every wicked man; for such a one as to his spirit is in hell. 

289. It has often been manifested to me that no one in hell 
thinks from himself, but from others about him, and those also 
not from themselves, but still from others ; and that thoughts 
and affections make an orderly progression from one society to 
another, without any one’s knowing otherwise than that the 
are from himself. Some, who supposed they thought and willed 
from themselves, were sent into a society, all communication 
being cut off with their neighbours, to whom also their thoughts 

211 Oo 


989—291 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


used to extend themselves, and they were detained therein. 
They were then told to think otherwise than the spirits of that 
society thought, and to force themselves to think contrary to it, 
but they confessed that they found it impossible. This was 
done by many, and among others with Leibnitz, who was also 
convinced, that no one thinks from himself, but from others, 
and that neither do those others think from themselves, but all 
by influx from heaven, and heaven by influx from the Lord. 
Some, when they meditated on this matter, said that it was 
astonishing, and that scarce any one would be led to believe it, 
because it is quite contrary to appearance, but that yet they 
could not deny it, because it was fully proved. Nevertheless, 
in their state of astonishment, they said, that at this rate they 
are not in fault when they think evil; also, that thus it would 
seem as if evil were from the Lord; and, moreover, that they 
did not comprehend how the Lord alone could cause all to think 
so differently. But these three points shall be explained in 
what follows. 

290. To the experience already adduced this also shall be 
added. When it was granted me by the Lord to speak with 
spirits and angels, this arcanum was immediately revealed to 
me; for it was told me out of heaven, that like others I believed 
that I thought and willed from myself, when nevertheless it was 
not from myself, but if good, from the Lord, and if evil, from 
hell. That this was the case was also demonstrated to me in a 
lively manner by various thoughts and affections induced, and 
I was enabled successively to perceive and feel it; therefore 
afterwards, as soon as any evil stole into my will, or any falsity 
into my thoughts, I inquired whence it came, when it was dis- 
covered to me; and moreover it was permitted me to speak with 
those who infused it, to rebuke them, and to drive them away, 
that they might retire, thus withdraw their evil and falsity, and 
keep it to themselves, no longer infusing any such thing into 
my thoughts. This has been done a thousand times; and in 
this state I have now remained for many years, and still con- 
tinue in it; yet I seem to myself, entirely like others, to think 
and will from myself, for it 1s of the Lord’s Divine Providence 
that it should so appear to every one, as was shown above in 
its proper place. Novitiate spirits wonder at this my state; for 
it seems to them as if I did not think and will any thing from 
myself, and therefore that I am like something empty ;.but I 
opened this arcanum to them; and moreover that I also think 
more interiorly, and perceive what flows into my exterior 
thought, whether it be from heaven or from hell; that I reject 
the latter and receive the former; and that still I seem to my- 
self, just as they do, to think and will from myself. 

291. That all good is from heaven, and all evil from hell, is. 
not unknown in the world. It is known to every one in the 

212 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 291, 292 


church. Who that is admitted into the priesthood, does not 
teach that all good is from God, and that a man cannot take 
any thing of himself which is not given him from heaven ; also, 
that the devil infuses evils into men’s thoughts, seduces them, 
and excites them to do evils? Therefore a priest, who thinks 
he preaches from holy zeal, prays that the Holy Ghost would 
teach him, and influence his thoughts and words. Some say 
they perceive sensibly that they are acted upon; and when their 
preachings are commended, answer piously, that they did not 
speak from themselves, but from God. Therefore, also, when 
they see any one speak and act well, they say he was led by 
God to do it; and on the other hand, when they see any one 
speak and act wickedly, they say he was led to it by the devil. 
That this is the language of the church is well known ; but who 
believes in the truth of it ? 

292. That all which a man thinks and wills, and conse- 
quently says and does, flows from the only Fountain of life, and 
yet that the only Fountain of life, which is the Lord, is not the 
cause of a man’s thinking what is evil and false, may be illus- 
trated by the following circumstance in the natural world. From 
its sun proceed heat and light; and these two flow into all the 
subjects and objects which we see, not only into good subjects 
and beautiful objects, but also into evil subjects ‘and deformed 
objects, producing in them various effects; for they flow not 
only into trees which bear good fruit, but also into such as bear 
bad fruit, and even into the fruits themselves, causing them to 
vegetate. In like manner, they flow into good seed, and also 
into tares ; likewise into useful or wholesome shrubs, and into 
hurtful or poisonous ones. Yet it is the same heat and hight, 
in which there is not any cause of evil; for that exists in the 
recipient subjects and objects. The heat which hatches eggs 
containing an owl, a screech-owl, or an asp, is similar to that 
which hatches eggs containing a dove, a beautiful bird, or a 
swan. Set both kinds of eggs under a hen, and they will be 
hatched by her heat, which in itself is harmless. What then 
has the heat in common with those evil and noxious things ¢ 
The action of heat, when it flows into marshy grounds, ster- 
coraceous, putrid, and cadaverous substances, is the same as 
when it flows into vinous, fragrant, vegetating, and living sub: 
stances. Who but must see that the cause does not exist in the 
heat, but in the recipient subject? The same light, also, pro- 
duces in one object beautiful, and in another disagreeable colours ; 
it even brightens itself and shines in white objects, while it 
becomes opaque and darkness itself in objects verging towards 
black. It is the same in the spiritual world, where also there 
are heat and light from the sun thereof, which is the Lord. 
The heat and light flow from him into their subjects and objects; 
which subjects and objects there are angels and spirits, speci- 

213 


299—294 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


fically the things appertaining to their voluntary and intellectual 
faculties; the heat there being the proceeding Divine Love, and 
the light there the proceeding Divine Wisdom. The cause ot 
their being received differently by one and by another does not 
exist in the heat and light; for the Lord says, that ‘‘ He maketh 
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on 
the just and on the unjust” (Matt. v. 45). By sun, in the 
supreme spiritual sense, is meant the Divine Love, and by rain 
the Divine Wisdom. 

293. To this I will add a sentiment of the angels concerning 
will and intelligence in man: it is this,—that there does not 
exist In any man one grain of will or prudence that is proper to 
himself; for they say, if there existed one grain in any man, 
neither heaven nor hell could hold together, and the whole 
human race would perish. The reason of this, they say, is, 
because myriads of myriads of men, as many as have been 
born since the creation of the world, constitute heaven, and 
hell, in which there is such order and subordination that they 
‘respectively make a one,—heaven one beautiful man, and hell 
one monstrous man; and if any individual person had a single 
grain of will and intelligence of his own, this one could not 
possibly exist, but would be distracted, and that divine form 
would perish ; which can no otherwise consist and be permanent, 
than when the Lord is all in all, and they altogether nothing. 
Another reason, they say, is, because the divine principle con- 
sists essentially in thinking and willing from itself, while the 
human principle consists essentially in thinking and willing 
from God; and what is essentially divine cannot be appropriated 
to any man, for in that case he would bea god. Keep this in re- 
membrance; and if you desire it, it will be confirmed to you b 
the angels, when you enter into the spiritual world after death. 

294. It was observed above, n. 289, that when some were 
convinced that no one thinks from himself, but from others, 
and that all those others think, not from themselves, but by 
influx through heaven from the Lord, they said in astonishment 
that, this being the case, it would not be their fault if they did 
evil; also, that thus it would seem that evil is from the Lord; 
and that they did not comprehend that the Lord alone could 
cause all to think so diversely. Now as these three suggestions 
cannot but flow into the thoughts of those who think only of 
effects from effects, and not of effects from causes, it is necessary 
that they should be assumed, and explained from their causes. 
First, That this being the case, it would not be their fault if they 
did evil: for if all that a man thinks flows from others, it seems 
as if the fault were in those from whom it flows. Yet the fault 
‘is in him who receives; for he receives it as his own, and neither 
knows nor wishes to know any otherwise; because every one 
desires to be his own, to be guided by himself, and especially 

214 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 294. 


to think and will from himself. This is liberty itself, which 
appears as the proprium in which every man is: therefore if he 
knew that whatever he thinks and wills flows from another, he 
would seem to himself to be in chains and captivity, and no 
longer master of himself; thus all the delight of his life would 
perish and at length his humanity itself. That this is the case 

have frequently seen proved. Certain spirits were permitted 
to perceive and feel that they were led by others, and then their 
anger was kindled to such a degree that they became as it were 
beside themselves, saying that they would rather be kept in 
chains in hell, than not be allowed to think as they will, and 
will as they think. Not to be allowed to do this, they called 
being chained with respect to their very lives, which was harder 
and more intolerable than being chained with respect to their 
bodies. Not to be allowed to speak and act as they thought 
and willed, they did not call being chained ; because the delight 
of civil and moral life, which consists in speaking and acting, 
restrains, and, at the same time, as it were, alleviates the 
restraint. Now as a man does not desire to know that he js led 
to think by others, but is desirous to think from himself, and 
also believes that he does so, it follows that the fault is in 
himself, and that he cannot free himself from it so long as he 
continues to think what he does; but if he does not love it, he 
dissolves his connection with those from whom his thought 
flows. This is the case when he knows that it is evil, and 
therefore desires to shun it and desist from it. Then also he is 
taken away by the Lord from the society which is in that evil, 
and translated to a society in which it does not exist ; but if he 
knows the evil, and does not shun it, then the fault is imputed 
to him, and he becomes guilty of that evil. Therefore, whatever 
a man thinks he does from himself is said to be done from the 
man, and not from the Lord. Srconpiy, That thus it would 
seem that evil is from the Lord. This may be thought to bea 
conclusion deducible from what was shown above, n. 288, which 
is, that influent good from the Lord is turned into evil, and 
truth into falsity, in hell. But who cannot see that evil and 
falsity are not from goodness and truth, consequently not from 
the Lord, but from the recipient subject and object, which is 
in evil and falsity, and perverts and inverts goodness and truth, 
as was also fully shown above, n. 292? Whence arise the evil 
and falsity in a man is repeatedly shown in the preceding pages. 
An experiment was also made in the spiritual world with those 
who thought that the Lord could remove evils from the wicked, 
and introduce good in place thereof, thus could transfer all hell 
into heaven, and save all; but that this is impossible will be 
Seen at the end of this treatise, where momentaneous salvation 
and immediate mercy are treated of. Tutrpiy, That they did 
not comprehend that the Lord alone could cause all to think so 

215 


294—2.96 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


diversely. The divine love of the Lord is infinite, his divine 
wisdom is infinite; and infinite things of love and of wisdom 
proceed from the Lord, and flow into all in heaven, thence into 
allin hell, and from both into all in the world: there cannot, 
therefore, be wanting to any one something to think and to 
will, for infinite things are infinitely all. Those infinite things 
which proceed from the Lord, flow not only universally, but 
also most particularly; for the divine is universal, existing in 
things the most particular. It is divine particulars, as was 
shown above, which compose what is called universal; and the 
most minute divine particular is also infinite. Hence it may 
appear that the Lord alone causes every one to think and will 
according to his quality, and according to the laws of his pro- 
vidence. That all the things which are in the Lord, and pro- 
ceed from the Lord, are infinite, was shown above, n. 46—69 ; 
and also in the treatise On tae Divine Love anp THe Divine 
Wispom, n. 17—22. 

995. Il. That the wicked continually lead themselves into 
evils, but that the Lord continually withdraws them from evils. 
It may be more easily comprehended how the Divine Providence 
operates with the good than how it operates with the evil, and 
as the latter operation is now treated of, it shall be set forth in 
the following series. J. That there are things innumerable in 
every evil. II. That the wicked man from himself continually 
sinks himself more and more deeply into his evils. IL. That 
the Divine Providence with the wicked is a continual permission 
of evil, to the end that there may be a continual withdrawal 
therefrom. IV. That the withdrawal from evil is effected by 
the Lord by a thousand most secret means. 

296. In order then that the Divine Providence with the 
wicked may be distinctly perceived, and thus comprehended, 
the above propositions shall be explained in the order in which 
they are adduced. Firsr, That there are things mnumerable om 
every evil. Every evil appears to us as one simple thing. This 
is the case with hatred and revenge, theft and fraud, adultery 
and whoredom, pride and high-mindedness, and with every 
other evil; and it is not known that in every evil there are 
things innumerable, exceeding in number the fibres and vessels 
in a man’s body; buta wicked man is a hell in its least form, 
and hell consists of myriads of myriads, every one there being 
in a human form, although it be a monstrous one, and all the 
fibres and vessels in it inverted. The spirit itself is evil, ap- 
pearing to itself as one; but innumerable as are the things 
which are in it,so innumerable are the concupiscences of its 
evils; for every man is his own evil or his own good, from the 
crown of his head to the sole of his foot. Since then a wicked 
man is such, it is evident that he is one evil, composed of various 
innumerable ones, which are distinctly evils, and are called con- 

216 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 296 


cupiscences of evil. Hence it follows, that all these in their 
order are to be repaired and converted by the Lord, in order 
that the man may be reformed; and that this cannot be effected 
but by the Lord’s Divine providence, from the earliest period 
of the man’s life to its termination successively. Every concu- 
piscence of evil appears in hell, when it is represented, like 
some noxious animal; as for example, like a dragon, a basilisk, 
a viper, an owl, or a screech-owl, and so forth; and in the same 
manner do the concupiscences of evil appear about a wicked 
man, when he is viewed by the angels. All these forms of con- 
cupiscences are to be severally changed. The man himself, who 
with respect to his spirit appears as a monster or a devil, is to 
be converted, that he may become like a beautiful angel; and 
each concupiscence of evil is to be converted or changed, that 
it may appear like a lamb or a sheep, or like a pigeon, or a 
turtle dove, as the good affections of the angels appear in heaven, 
when they are represented; and the conversion of a dragon into 
a lamb, of a basilisk into a sheep, and of an owl into a dove, 
cannot be effected except progressively, by rooting out evil from 
its seed, and sowing good seed in its place. But this must be 
done comparatively like the ingrafting of trees, the roots of 
which with some of the trunk remain; and yet the ingrafted 
branch converts the juices extracted from the old root into juices 
producing good fruit. The branch which is to be ingrafted can- 
not be taken from any other but from the Lord, who is the tree 
of lite; according also to the Word of the Lord (John xv. 1—7 ). 
Seconpiy, That the wicked man from himself continually sinks 
himself more deeply into his evils. Tt is said, from himself, be- 
cause all evil is from man; for he converts into evil the good 
which is from the Lord, as was said above. The true reason 
why the wicked man immerses himself more deeply in evil, is, 
because as he wills and does evil, he introduces himself more 
and more interiorly, and also more and more deeply, into in- 
fernal societies. Thence also the delight of evil increases, and 
so occupies his thoughts, that at last he feels nothing more 
pleasant; and he that has introduced himself more interiorly 
and deeply into infernal societies, becomes like one bound in 
chains. So long as he lives in the world, however, he does not 
feel his chains; for they are like soft wool, or fine silken threads, 
which he loves because they are pleasurable; but after death 
those chains, instead of being soft are hard, and instead of 
being pleasurable are galling. That the delight of evil is 
capable of increase is well known from thefts, robberies, depre- 
dations, revenges, tyrannies, the desire of lucre, and other 
evils. Who does not feel elevations of the delight of these 
evils, in proportion to his suecess and the unrestrained practice 
of them? It is well known that the thief feels such delight 
in thefts that he cannot desist from them, and what is surpris- 
217 7 


296 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


ing, that he loves one stolen piece of money better than ten 
that are given him. It would be the same with adulteries, were 
it not provided that the power of committing that evil decreases 
with the abuse of it; yet with many there remains a delight in 
thinking and speaking of it, and if nothing more, a lust ot 
touching. But it is not known what is the reason of this in- 
crease of delight, and that it is a consequence of the person’s 
introducing himself into infernal societies more and more inte- 
riorly, and more and more deeply, as he commits evils in will 
and at the same time in thought. If the evils are only in 
thought, and not in will, he is not yet with evil in an infernal 
society ; but he enters it when they are also in the will. If in 
this case he also thinks that such evil is contrary to the pre- 
cepts of the Decalogue, and considers these precepts as divine, 
he commits it intentionally, and thereby plunges himself more 
deeply into hell, whence he cannot be drawn out but by actual 
repentance. It is to be observed, that every man, with respect 
to his spirit, is in some society of the spiritual world,—a wicked 
man in some infernal society, and a good man in some celestial 
society. He also appears there sometimes when he is in deep 
meditation. Moreover, as sound, together with speech, diffuses 
itself in the air in the natural world, so does affection, together 
with thought, diffuse itself among societies in the spiritual world ; 
and there is a correspondence between them,—affection corres- 
ponding to sound, and thought to speech. Tutrvny, That the 
Divine Providence with the wicked ts a continual permission 
of evil, in order that they may be continually drawn out of it. 
The reason why the Divine Providence with wicked men is con- 
tinual permission, is, because nothing but evil can proceed from 
their lite; for a man, whether he be in good or in evil, cannot 
be in both at once, nor in either alternately, except he be luke- 
warm; and evil of life is not introduced by the Lord into the 
will, and through it into the thought, but it is introduced by 
man, and this is called permission. Now as all that a wicked 
man wills and thinks is of permission, it may be asked, How 
then is the Divine Providence therein, which is said to be in 
the most minute particulars with every man, the wicked as well 
as the good? I answer, In this respect, that it continually 
permits for a certain end, permitting such things as are condu- 
cive to that end, and no others; and that it continually ex- 
amines, separates, and purifies the evils which issue forth by 
permission, putting off and removing by unknown ways such 
as are not consistent with the end proposed. These things are 
done principally in a man’s interior will, and from it in his inte- 
rior thought. ‘The Divine Providence is also continual, in pro- 
viding that those things which are to be put off and removed 
shall not be again received by the will; because all things 
which are received by the will are appropriated to the man 3 
218 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 9296 


but those which are received in the thought and not in the will 
are separated and set aside. This is the Lord’s continual pro- 
vidence with the wicked, which, as was observed, is a continual 
permission of evil, to the end that they may be perpetually 
drawn out of it. Of these operations of Providence a man 
scarcely knows any thing, because he does not perceive them ; 
the chief reason of which is, that evils are of the concupis- 
cences of his Jife’s love, and those are not perceived as evils, 
but as delights, to which no one attends; for who attends to 
the delights of his love? A man’s thought swims in them, 
like a boat carried along in the stream of a river; and they are 
perceived as a fragrant atmosphere, which is drawn in with full 
inspiration. He can only perceive something of them in his 
external thought; but he does not attend to them even there, 
unless he well knows that they are evils. But of this more 
will be said in what follows. Fourruny, That the withdrawal 
Jrom evil is effected by the Lord by a thousand most secret means. 
Of these some few only have been discovered to me, and these 
but of a general nature, which are, that the delights of con- 
cupiscences, of which a man knows nothing, are emitted in 
companies and bundles into his interior thoughts, which are 
those of his spirit, thence into his exterior thoughts, in which 
they make their appearance under some sense of pleasure, 
satisfaction, or cupidity, and are there intermixed with his 
natural and sensual delights. It is here that the means of 
separation and purification are, and also the ways of withdrawal 
and removal. These means are principally the delights of me- 
ditation, thought, and reflection for the sake of certain ends, 
which are of use; and ends which are of use are as many. in 
number as the particulars and singulars of any man’s business 
and function; also, as many in number as there are delights 
of reflection, in order that he may appear as a civil and moral 
and also as a spiritual man, besides the undelightful things 
which interpose. These delights, as they are of his love in the 
external man, are the means of separation, purification, rejection, 
and withdrawal of the delights of the concupiscences of evil of 
the internal man. Take for example an unjust judge, who has 
in view his own interest and the connections of friendship as the 
ends or uses of his function. Interiorly he has continually those 
ends in view, but exteriorly his object is to act as a skilful 
lawyer and a just man. He is continually in the delight of 
meditating, thinking, reflecting upon, and intending, to bend 
what is right, to turn, adapt, and accommodate it, so that it 
may seem conformable to the laws and consistent with justice. 
He does not know that his internal delight consists of cunning, 
fraud, deceit, clandestine thefts, and many other things; and 
that this delight compounded of so many delights of the con- 
cupiscences of evil, rules in the whole and in every particular of 
219 


296 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


his external thought, in which exist the delights of the appearance 
that he is just and sincere. The internal delights are let down 
into these external delights, and mixed like food in the stomach, 
where they are separated, purified, and drawn off; but this is 
the case only with the more grievous delights of the concu- 
piscences of evil; for in a wicked man there take place no other 
separation, purification, and removal, than that of the more 
grievous evils from the less grievous. In a good man, however, 
there take place a separation, purification, and removal of the 
less as well as of the more grievous evils; and this is effected 
by the delights of the affections of good and truth, and of 
justice and sincerity, into which he enters in proportion as he 
considers evils as sins, and therefore shuns and holds them in 
aversion, and still more when he fights against them. These 
are the means by which the Lord purifies all who are saved. 
He also purifies them by external means which have respect to 
fame and honour, and sometimes to interest: yet into these the 
Lord inserts delights of the affections of good and truth, by 
which they are so directed and adapted as to become delights 
of the love of the neighbour. If any one were to see the de- 
lights of the concupiscences of evil together, in any form, or 
were to perceive them distinctly with any sense, he would see 
and perceive them in such number that they could not be de- 
fined; for the whole of hell is no other than the form of all 
the concupiscences of evil; and no concupiscence of evil there 
is, or can be to all eternity, exactly like another, or the same 
with it. Of these innumerable concupiscences a man scarcely 
knows any thing, much less how they are connected; and yet 
the Lord, by his Divine Providence, continually permits that 
they should come forth, to the end that they may be drawn off, 
which is done in regular order and series; for a wicked man is 
a hell in its least form, as a good man is a heaven in its least 
form. That the withdrawal from evils is effected by the Lord 
by a thousand most secret means, cannot better be seen, and 
thereby concluded upon, than from the secret operations of the 
soul in the body. Those with which a man is acquainted are 
the following: with respect to the food he is to eat, he looks at 
it, smells it, has an appetite for it, tastes it, chews it with his 
teeth, turns it about with his tongue, and thus swallows it 
down into the stomach. But the secret operations of the soul 
with which he is unacquainted, because he does not perceive 
them, are the following: the stomach turns about the food it has 
received, opens and separates its parts by means of its solvent 
liquor, that is, digests it, and presents such as is properly pre- 
pared to the mouths of the vessels opening into the intestines, 
which drink it up. It also distributes some parts into the 
blood, some into the lymphatic vessels, some into the lacteal 
vessels of the mesentery, and conveys some down the intestines. 
220 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 296, 297 


Afterwards, the chyle, which is drawn through the vessels of 
the mesentery into its receptacle, is conveyed through the tho- 
racic duct into the vena cava, and so into the heart; from the 
heart into the lungs, thence through the left ventricle of the 
heart into the aorta, and from the aorta by its different rami- 
fications into the viscera of the whole body, and also into the 
kidneys; in each of which there is a separation and purification 
of the blood, and a removal of heterogeneous parts; not to men- 
tion how the heart distributes its blood to the brain after it has 
been purified in the lungs, which is done by the arteries called 
earotids, and how the brain returns the blood vivified into the 
above-mentioned vena cava, into which the thoracic duct empties 
the chyle, and so again to the heart. These, besides innumer- 
able others, are the secret operations of the soul in the body. 
A man perceives nothing of these, and he that is not skilled in 
anatomy knows nothing of them. Yet similar things are done 
in the interiors of a man’s mind; for nothing can be done in the 
body, except from the mind, inasmuch as a man’s mind is his 
spirit, and his spirit is equally a man, with this difference only, 
that the things which are done in the body are done natu- 
rally, and those which are done in the mind are done spiritually : 
there is a perfect similitude. Hence it is evident that the Divine 
Providence operates by a thousand hidden ways in every man; 
that its end is continually to purify him, because its end is to 
save him; and that nothing more is incumbent upon a man than - 
to remove evils in the external man, the Lord providing the rest, 
if he be implored. 9 

297. Ul. That the Lord cannot entirely lead the wicked 
out of evils, and into goods, so long as they consider self-derived 
intelligence to be all, and the Divine Prowdence nothing. It 
appears as if a man could lead himself out of evils, if he would 
but think that this or that is contrary to the good of the com- 
munity, contrary to utility, and contrary to the laws of his 
country and the law of nations; and this a wicked man can do 
as well as a good man, provided that, by birth, or from the ex- 
ercise of his faculties, he is able to think within himself analy- 
tically and rationally ina distinct manner. He is not able, how- 
ever, to draw himself out of evil; the reason of which is, that 
although the faculty of understanding and perceiving things even 
abstractly is given by the Lord to every one, the wicked as well 
as the good, as has been shown in many places above, yet still, 
aman cannot by means of this faculty draw himself out of evil, 
because evil is of the will, and the understanding does not flow 
into the will except with light only, illuminating and teaching ; 
and if the heat of the will, that is, the man’s life’s love, is fervid 
from the concupiscence of evil, it is frigid as to the affection of 
good, and therefore does not receive light, but either rejects or 
extinguishes it, or hy some invented false principle converts it 

221 


_ 297, 298. ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


into evil. The case herein is as with the light of winter, which is _ 
equally as clear as the light of summer, and which flowing into 
cold trees produces a similar effect. These things however will 
be seen more fully in the following order. 1. That self-derived 
intelligence, when the will is in evil, sees nothing but what is 
false; and that it neither will nor can see any thing else. 2. 
That if self-derived intelligence then sees. truth, it turns itself 
away, or falsifies it. 3. That the Divine Providence continually 
causes a man to see truth, and also gives him the affection of 
perceiving and receiving it. 4. That a man is thereby drawn 
out of evil, not by himself, but by the Lord. 

298. These propositions shall be explained in their proper 
order to the rational man, whether he be wicked or good, thus 
whether he be in the light of winter or of summer, for colours 
appear alike in both. Firsr, Zhat self-derived intelligence, when 
the will is in evil, sees nothing but what is false ; and that it 
neither will nor can see any thing else. This has often been 
experimentally shown in the spiritual world. . Every man, when 
he becomes a spirit, which he does after death (for he then puts 
off his material body, and puts on a spiritual one), is alternately 
let into the two states of his life, the external and the internal. 
When he is in the external state, he speaks and acts rationally 
and wisely, just like a rational and wise man in the world; he 
can also teach others many things which relate to moral and 
civil life; and if he has been a preacher, he can also teach things 
relating to spiritual life. But when he is let out of this into 
his internal state-—when the external is laid asleep, and the 
internal is awakened,—if he is wicked, the scene is changed; 
instead of rational, he becomes sensual, and instead of wise, 
insane ; for he thinks then from the evil of his will and its delight, 
therefore from self-derived intelligence; he sees nothing but 
what is false, and does nothing but evil, thinking that malice 
is wisdom, and cunning is prudence; and from self-derived in- 
telligence he fancies himself a god, and imbibes with all his 
soul the most wicked arts. Such insanity I have often seen: 
I have also seen. spirits let into these alternate states two or 
three times in an hour; and then it was granted them to see 
their insanities, and to acknowledge them; yet they would not 
remain in their rational and moral state, but of their own accord 
turned themselves to their internal, sensual, and insane state; 
for this they loved more than the other, because therein consisted 
the delight of their life’s love. Who could suppose that a 
wicked man is such beneath his outward appearance, and that 
he undergoes such a metamorphosis when he comes into his 
interior state? From this experience alone may appear the 
nature of self-derived intelligence, when it thinks and acts from 
the evil of its will. The case is different with the good, when 
they are let into an internal state from an external, they 


222 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 998 


becoming still more wise and moral than before. Sxrconpty, 
That of self-derwed intelligence then sees truth, it either turns 
itself away, or falsifies it. Every man has a voluntary proprium 
and an intellectual proprium: his voluntary proprium is evil, 
and his intellectual proprium the falsity thence derived; the 
latter is meant by the will of man, and the former by the will 
of the flesh (John i. 13). The voluntary proprium is in its 
essence selflove, and the intellectual proprium is pride pro- 
ceeding from that love. These are like two connubial partners, 
and their marriage is called the marriage of evil and falsity. 
Every evil spirit is let into this marriage before he is admitted 
into hell; and when he is in this state, he does not know what 
good is; for he calls his own evil good, because he feels it as 
his delight. He then also turns himself away from truth, and 
will not see it; because the falsity agreeing with his evil is seen 
by him as beautiful objects are by the eye, and is heard as 
harmonious sounds by the ear. Tutrpiy, Zhat the Divine Pro- 
vidence continually causes a man to see truth, and also gives him 
the affection of perceiving and receiving it. The reason of this 
is, because the Divine Providence acts from within, and flows 
thence into the exteriors; or it acts from the spiritual man upon 
the things which are in the natural man, and by the light of 
heaven illuminates his understanding, and by its heat vivifies 
his will. The light of heaven is in its essence divine wisdom, 
and the heat of heaven is in its essence divine love: from divine . 
wisdom nothing can flow but truth, and from divine love nothing 
but good, from which the Lord gives in the understanding the 
affection of seeing truth, and also of perceiving and receiving it. 
‘Thus a man is made a man, not only as to his external face, but 
also as to his internal. Who does not wish to seem a rational 
and spiritual man; and who does not know that he wishes to 
seem so in order that he may be thought by others to be a true 
man? If, therefore, he is rational and spiritual in his external 
form only, and not at the same time in his internal, can he be 
aman? can he be said to be otherwise than like a player upon 
the stage, or like an ape whose face nearly resembles a man’s ? 
May he not know from thence that he alone is a man who in- 
teriorly is such as he desires to be thought by others? He who 
acknowledges the one, acknowledges the other. Self-derived 
intelligence can induce the human form only in externals, but 
the Divine Providence induces it in internals, and through 
internals in externals; and when it is induced, a man does not 
barely appear to be man, but is one. Fourrury, Zhat a man 
as thereby drawn out of evil, not by himself, but by the Lord. 
The reason why a man can be drawn out of evil, when the 
Divine Providence gives the perception of truth, and at the 
Same time the affection thereof, is, because truth shows and 
dictates; and when the will performs what is thus dictated, it 
223 


298—300 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


joins itself therewith, converting in itself truth into good; for 
truth then becomes the truth of a man’s love, and that which 
is of the love is good. All reformation is effected by truth, and 
not without it; for without truth the will is continually in its 
evil, and if it consults the understanding it is not instructed, 
but evil is confirmed by falsities. As to what relates to intel- 
ligence, it appears to be his own both in a good man anda 
wicked man; and a good man is also obliged, as well as a wicked 
man, to act from intelligence seemingly proper to himself; yet 
he who believes in the Divine Providence is withdrawn from 
evil, but he who does not is not withdrawn. He believes in it 
who acknowledges evil to be sin, and desires to be delivered 
from it; and he does not believe in it who does not acknowledge 
and desire this. The difference between these two kinds of in- 
telligence is like the difference between that which is thought 
to exist in itself and that which is thought not to exist in itself, 
but yet as if in itself; and it is also like the difference between 
an external without a correspondent internal, and an external 
with a correspondent internal; consequently, like the differ- 
ence between the words and gestures of mimics and players, 
who personate kings, princes, and generals, and those of the 
kings, princes, and generals themselves; the latter being in- 
teriorly as well as exteriorly such, the former only exteriorly, 
which exterior being put off, they are called comedians, actors, 
and players. 

209. IV. That the Lord. governs hell by opposites, and the 
wicked who are in the world he governs in hell as to interiors, 
but not as to exteriors. He who does not know the nature of 
heaven and hell, cannot at all know the nature of a man’s mind, 
which is his spirit which lives after death. The reason of this 
is, because a man’s mind or spirit, in all the particulars of its 
form, is similar to that of heaven or hell: there is no difference, 
except that one is great and the other small, or that one is 
an image, and the other its type; therefore a man, as to his 
mind or spirit, is either a heaven or a hell in its least form. 
He that is led by the Lord is a heaven, and he that is led by his 
own proprium is a hell. Now, since I have been made acquainted 
with the nature both of heaven and hell, and it is important to 
know what is the nature of man with respect to his mind or 
spirit, | would briefly give a description of both. 

800. All in heaven are no other than affections of good and 
thence thoughts of truth; and all in hell are no other than 
concupiscences of evil and thence imaginations of falsity. Both 
of these are so arranged that the concupiscences of evil and the 
imaginations of falsity in hell are directly ere to the 
affections of good and the thoughts of truth in heaven. Hell, 
therefore, is under heaven, and diametrically opposite to it; as 
much so as two men who lie opposite to each other, or stand 

224 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 800—3038 


opposite as antipodes, consequently inverted, have the soles of 
their feet placed against each other, or stand each upon the heels 
of the other. Sometimes also hell appears in such a situation, 
or thus turned, with respect to heaven. The reason of this is, 
because those who are in hell make the concupiscences of evil 
their head, and the affections of good their feet; while those 
who are in heaven make the affections of good their head, and 
the concupiscences of evil the soles of their feet: hence their 
mutual opposition. It is said that in heaven there are affections 
of good and thence thoughts of truth, and that in hell there are 
concupiscences of evil and thence imaginations of falsity : hereby 
is meant that there are spirits and angels who are such; for 
every one is his own affection or his own concupiscence,—the 
angel of heaven his own affection, and the spirit of hell his own 
concupiscence. 

301. The reason why the angels of heaven are affections of 
good and thence thoughts of truth, is, because they are recipients 
of divine love and wisdom from the Lord,—all affections of good 
being from divine love, and all thoughts of truth from divine 
wisdom; and the reason why the spirits of hell are concupis- 
cences of evil and thence imaginations of falsity, is, because they 
are in the love of self’ and in selfderived intelligence,—all con- 
cupiscences of evil being from the love of self, and imaginations 
of falsity from self-derived intelligence. 

302. The arrangement of affections in heaven, and of con- 
cupiscences in hell, is wonderful, and known only to the Lord. 
They are respectively distinguished into genera and species, and 
so conjoined as to act as a one; and as they are distinguished 
into genera and species, they are distinguished into greater or 
lesser societies ; as, also, they are conjoined that they may act 
as a one, they are conjoined like all the things which are in a 
man. Hence heaven, in its form, is like a beautiful man, whose 
soul is the divine love and the divine wisdom, consequently the 
Lord; and hell, in its form, is like a monstrous man, whose soul 
is self-love and self-derived intelligence, consequently the devil ; 
for there is no particular devil, who is sole lord there, but self 
love is so called. 

303. In order however that the nature of heaven and hell 
may be still better understood, instead of the affections of good 
suppose the delights of good, and instead of the concupiscences 
of evil, the delights of evil; for there exists no affection or con- 
cupiscence without its delights, because delights constitute the 
life of every one. These delights are distinguished and con- 
nected, as was said above respecting the affections of good and 
the concupiscences of evil. The delight of his affection fills and 
encompasses every angel of heaven; its common delight fills and 
encompasses every society of heaven; and the delight of all 
together, or that which is most general, fills and encompasses 

225 


3803—306 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


the universal heaven. In like manner, the delight of his con- 
cupiscence fills and encompasses every spirit of hell; its com- 
mon delight every society in hell; and the delight of all, or that 
which is general, the whole of hell. Since the affections of 
heaven and the concupiscences of hell are, as was observed 
above, diametrically opposite to each other, it is evident that 
the delight of heaven is insupportable in hell; and on the other 
hand, that the delight of hell is insupportable in heaven: hence 
proceed their mutual antipathy, aversion, and separation. 

304. These delights, as they constitute the life of each 
individual in particular, and of all in common, are not felt b 
those who are in them; but their opposites are felt when they 
approach, especially when they are converted into smells; for 
every delight corresponds to some smell, and in the spiritual 
world may be converted into it. Then the delight of heaven in 
general is felt like the smell of a garden, with a variety accord- 
ing to the fragrances therein from flowers and fruits; and the 
delight of hell in general is felt like stagnant water, into which 
have been cast divers kinds of filth, with a variety according to 
the stench of things putrid and offensive therein. In what man- 
ner the delight of each particular affection of good in heaven, 
and of each particular concupiscence of evil in hell, is felt, has 
been made known to me; but it would be tedious to explain 
it here. | 

305. I have heard many persons recently come from the 
world complain that they did not know their lot would be ac- 
cording to the affections of their love; saying, that in the world 
they did not think about them, much less about their delights, 
because they loved that which was delightful to them; and that 
they only supposed the lot of every one would be according to 
his thought arising from intelligence, especially according to 
thoughts arising from piety, and also from faith: they were 
however answered, that they might have known, if they would, 
that an evil life is disagreeable to heaven and displeasing to 
God, and is pleasing to hell and delightful to the devil; on the 
other hand, that a good life is grateful to heaven and pleasing 
to God, and unpleasant to hell and disagreeable to the devil; 
therefore, that evil is in itself offensive, and good in itself fra- 

rant. Since they might have known this if they would, why 
dlid they not shun evils as infernal and diabolical, and why did 
they favour evils merely because they were delightful? Since 
also they now knew that the delights of evil have an offensive 
smell, they might also know that those in whom they abound 
cannot enter into heaven. After this answer, they betook them- 
selves to those who were in similar delights ; for there and there 
only could they breathe. 

306. From the idea now given of heaven and hell it may 
appear what is the nature of the mind of man (for, as before 

226 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 806, 307 


said, a man’s mind or spirit is a heaven or a hell in its least 
form), namely, that his interiors are mere atlections and thoughts 
thence derived, distinguished into genera and species, like 
greater and lesser societies, and so connected as to act as a one; 
and that the Lord rules those affections and thoughts, in like 
manner as he rules heaven or hell. That a man is either a 
heaven or a hell in its least form, may be seen in the work con- 
cerning Heaven ann Hutz, published in. London in the year 
losenaot 87. 

807. Now to the proposition in question, that the Lord 
governs hell by opposites, and that the wicked who are in the 
world he governs in hell as to interiors, but not as to exteriors. 
As to what relates, First, 70 the Lord’s governing hell by op- 
posites ; it is shown above, n. 288, 289, that the angels of heaven 
are not in love and wisdom, or in the affection of good and 
thence in the thought of truth, from themselves, but from the 
Lord; and that good and truth flow from heaven into hell; 


where good is turned into evil and truth into falsity, in conse- 


quence of the interiors of their minds being turned in a contrary 
direction. Now since all things in hell are opposite to all things 


in heaven, it follows that the Lord governs hell by opposites. | 


Srconpiy, That the wicked who are in the world are governed in 
hell by the Lord ; because every man with respect to his spirit is 
in the spiritual world, and in some society there,—in an infernal 
society if he is wicked, and in a celestial society if good; for 
his mind, which in itself is spiritual, cannot be anywhere but 
among spirits, into whose society it also comes after death, 
That this is the case has also been said and shown above. But 
aman is not there like one of the spirits who is registered in 
the society, for he is continually in a state of reformation ; 


therefore, according to his life and its changes, he is translated | 


by the Lord from one society of hell to another, if he is wicked ; 
and if he suffers himself to be reformed, he is led out of hell 
and introduced into heaven, and there also translated from one 
society to another. This is continued until the time of his 
death, after which he is no longer carried from one society to 
another, because he is then no longer in any state of reforma- 
tion, but remains in that state in which the nature of his life has 
placed him; therefore when a man dies, he is inscribed in his 


own place. Turtrpiy, That the Lord thus governs the wicked in 


the world as to their interiors, but differently as to their exteriors. 
The Lord governs the interiors of a man’s mind in the manner 
just described, but its exteriors he governs in the world of spi- 
rits, which is in the midst between heaven and hell. The reason 


hereof is, because a man for the most part is different in externals ’ 


from what he is in internals ; for in externals he can put on the © 


semblance of an angel of light, and yet in internals he may be » 


7 


a spirit of darkness. Therefore his external is governed one ° 
227 ; | 


Ny 


307, 308 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


way, and his internal another ; his external is governed in the 
world of spirits, but his internal in heaven or hell, so long as he 
is in the world. Therefore, also, when he dies, he comes first 
into the world of spirits, and there into his external, which is 
there put off; and this being done, he.is transferred to the place 
in which he is inscribed.. The nature of the world of spirits 
may be seen in the work concerning Heaven anp Het, pub- 
lished in London in the year 1758, n. 421—535. 


THAT THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE APPROPRIATES NEITHER EVIL 
NOR GOOD TO ANY ONE, BUT THAT SELF-DERIVED PRUDENCE 
APPROPRIATES BOTH. 


308. Ir is believed by almost every one that a man thinks 
and wills from himself, and thence speaks and acts from him- 
self. Who of himself can suppose otherwise, since the appear- 
ance of it is so strong that it differs nothing from his really 
thinking, willing, speaking, and acting from himself, which yet 
is not possible? In Tue Anegeric WisboM CONCERNING THE 
Divine Love anp tHe Drvinr Wispom, it is demonstrated that 
there is one only life, and that men are recipients of life; also, 
that a man’s will is the receptacle of love, and his understand- 
ing the receptacle of wisdom, which two constitute that one 
only life. It is likewise demonstrated, that by creation, and 
thence continually by the Divine Providence, it is ordained that 
that life should appear in a man in such a similitude as if it 
were his own, consequently proper to himself; but that this is 
an appearance to the end that he may be a receptacle. More- 
over, it is demonstrated above, n. 288—294, that no man thinks 
from himself, but from others, and that those others do not 
think from themselves, but all from the Lord, the wicked as 
well as the good; likewise, that this is known in the Christian 
world, especially among those who not only say, but believe, 
that all goodness and truth, also all wisdom, and consequently 
all faith and charity, are from the Lord; and that every thing 
evil and false is from the devil or from hell. From all these 
premises no other conclusion can be deduced than that whatever 
aman thinks and wills comes by influx; and that, as all speech 
flows from thought as an effect from its cause, and all action in 
like manner from the will, therefore whatever a man speaks and 
acts comes likewise by influx, although derivately or mediately. 
That whatever a man sees, hears, smells, tastes, and feels, 
comes by influx, cannot be denied; why not then what he 
thinks and wills? Can there be any difference, except that 
such things as are in the natural world flow into or impress the 
organs of the external senses, or of the body, while such things 

228 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 308, 309 


as are in the spiritual world flow into or impress the organic 
substances of the internal senses, or of the mind? Therefore, 
that as the organs of the external senses, or of the body, are 
receptacles of natural objects, so the organic substances of the 
internal senses, or of the mind, are receptacles of spiritual 
objects. Since this is every man’s condition, what then is his 
proprium? His proprium does not consist in his being such or 
such a receptacle, because this proprium is nothing but his 
quality with respect to reception, and is not the proprium of 
life; tor by proprium no one means any thing but that which 
lives from itself, and thence thinks and wills from itself ; but 
that such a proprium does not exist in any man, yea, that 
it cannot exist in any one, follows from what has been said 
above. : 

309. I will here relate what I have heard from some in the 
spiritual world. They were such as believed self-derived pru- 
dence to be every thing, and the Divine Providence nothing. 
I said that a man has not any proprium, unless you choose to 
make his proprium consist in his being such and such a subject, 
or such and such an organ, or such and such a form; and this 
is not the proprium which is meant, for it is only his quality: 
but no man has any proprium in the sense in which proprium 
is commonly understood. Those who ascribed all things to self- 
derived prudence, and who may be called proprietaries, being 
the image of such characters, grew so enraged, that a flame 
appeared issuing from their nostrils, and they said, You utter 
paradoxes and insanities; would not a man in such case be an 
empty nothing? He would either be a mere ideal being and 
fantasy, or he would be an image or statue. To this I could 
only answer, that it was paradoxical and insane to believe that 
aman is life from himself, and that wisdom and prudence do 
not flow from God, but are in the man, consequently also the 
good which is of charity and the truth which is of faith. For 
any one to attribute these to himself is called insanity by every 
wise man, and is therefore also a paradox. Persons so doing 
are like those who dwell in the house or estate of another, and, 
being in possession, persuade themselves that they are their 
own; or like agents and stewards, who think all their master’s 
property their own; and like what the servants would have been 
to whom the Lord gave the talents to trade with, in case they 
had rendered no account of them, but kept them as their own, 
and so acted as thieves. Of such it may very justly be said 
that they are insane, that they are indeed empty nothings, and 
that they are idealists, because they have not in themselves from 
the Lord any good, which is the very essence of life, nor, con- 
sequently, have they any truth; therefore such are also called 
the dead, and likewise nothing, and emptiness, in Isaiah xl. 
17, 23; and in other places, makers of images, idols and statues. 

229 


309, 310 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


But of these things more below, to be explained in the follow- 
ing order. J. What self-derived prudence is, and what that 
prudence which is not self-derived. II. That a man from self 
derived prudence persuades himself, and confirms himself in 
the idea, that every good and truth is from himself, and in 
himself, and in like manner every evil and falsity. III. That 
every thing of which a man is persuaded, and in which he is 
confirmed, remains as his proprium. IV. That if a man would | 
believe, as is the truth, that every thing good and true is from 
the Lord, and every thing evil and false from hell, he would 
neither appropriate to himself good and account it meritorious, 
nor would he appropriate evil, and make himself accountable 
for it. 

810. I. What self-derived prudence is, and what that pru- 
dence which is not self-derived. Those are in self-derived pru- 
dence who confirm in themselves appearances, and make them 
truths, especially this appearance, that self-derived prudence is 
every thing, and the Divine Providence nothing, except some- 
thing very general, which nevertheless, as was shown above, 
cannot exist without particulars of which it must consist. They 
are also in fallacies, for every appearance confirmed as a truth 
becomes a fallacy; and in proportion as they confirm themselves 
from fallacies they become naturalists, in the same proportion 
believing nothing but what they can at the same time perceive 
with one of the bodily senses, especially the sight, because this 
principally acts in union with thought. Such persons at last 
become sensual; and if they confirm themselves in favour of 
nature against God, they close the interiors of their mind, and 
interpose as it were a veil, afterwards thinking what is under 
the veil, and nothing which is above it. These sensualists were 
called by the ancients serpents of the tree of knowledge. Of 
them it is said, in the spiritual world, that as they confirm 
themselves, they close the interiors of their minds, even at 
length unto the nose; for the nose signifies perception of truth, 
and when closed, indicates no perception at all. Their cha- 
racter shall now be described: they are more cunning and 
crafty than others, and are also ingenious reasoners; and cun- 
ning and craftiness they call intelligence and wisdom, nor do 
they know any other. Those who are not of this description 
they consider as simple and stupid, especially the worshipers of 
God and the confessors of the Divine Providence. With respect 
to the interior principles of their minds, of which they them- 
selves know very little, they are like those called Machiavelists, 
who make no account of murders, adulteries, thefts, and false 
testimony, considered in themselves: and if they reason against 
them, do it only from motives of prudence, that they may not 
appear to be what they really are. Of the life of a man in this 
world, they think that it is only like the life of a beast; and of 

230 , 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 810 


the life of a man after death, that it is like a vital vapour, which 
rising from the corpse or grave, relapses again, and so dies. 
From this madness came the idea that spirits and angels are air, 
and among those who are enjoined to believe in life everlasting, 
that the souls of men are the same; that therefore they neither 
see, hear, nor speak, consequently are blind, deaf, and dumb, 
and that they only think in their particle of air; for they say, 
How can the soul be any thing else? Did not the external 
senses die with the body? and how can they receive them again 
before the soul is reunited to the body? And because they could 
have only a sensual and not a spiritual idea of the state of the 
soul after death, they established this, otherwise the belief of 
an everlasting life would have perished. More especially they 
confirm in themselves self-love, calling it the fire of life, and an 
incitement to various uses in society ; and being of this descrip- 
tion, they are the idols of themselves; and their thoughts, being 
fallacies from fallacies, are images of falsity. As they favour 
the delights of concupiscences, they are satans and devils; those . 
being called satans who confirm in themselves the concupis- 
cences of evil, and those devils who live according to them. 
The nature of the most cunning sort of sensual men has also 
been made known to me: they have a deep hell behind, and 
wish to be invisible; therefore they appear hovering about there 
as it were spectres, which are their fantasies, and are called 
genil. Some of them were once ‘sent from that hell, that I 
might know their quality: they immediately applied themselves 
to the back part of my neck under the occiput, and thence en- 
tered into my affections, not choosing to enter into my thoughts, 
which they dexterously avoided ; they then varied my affections 
one after another, with a design of bending them insensibly 
into their opposites, which are concupiscences of evil; and as 
they did not in the least meddle with my thoughts, they would 
have inflected and inverted my affections, without my knowledge, 
if the Lord had not prevented. Those persons become of such 
a quality who in the world do not believe there is a Divine Pro- 
vidence, and search for nothing in others but their cupidities 
and desires, so leading them till they acquire a perfect. ascen- 
dency over them; and as they do this so clandestinely and 
cunningly that the others do not know it, and after death 
become like themselves, therefore immediately after their arrival 
in the spiritual world, they are cast into that hell, When seen 
in the light of heaven they appear without any nose; and, what 
is wonderful, although they are so cunning, yet they are more 
‘sensual than others. As the ancients called the sensual man a 
serpent, and such a man is a more cunning, crafty, and inge- 
nious reasoner than others, therefore it is said that “the serpent 
was more subtile than any beast of the field” (Gen. iii. 1); and 
the Lord says, “ Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves” 
231 


310, 311 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


(Matt. x. 16). Moreover the dragon, which is also called the 
old serpent, the devil, and satan, 1s described as “ having seven 
heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads” (Rev. 
xii. 8,9). By seven heads is signified craftiness, by ten horns 
the power of persuading by fallacies, and by seven crowns the 
holy things of the Word and of the church profaned. 

311. From this description of self-derived prudence, and of 
those. who are in it, may be seen what is the nature of that 
prudence which is not self-derived, and of the persons who are 
in it, namely, that prudence which is not selfderived is such 
as is in those who do not confirm in themselves the idea that 
intelligence and wisdom are from any man, but say, How can 
aman have wisdom from himself and do good from himself? 
And when they say this, they see the matter accordingly, for 
they think interiorly, and also believe that others think in the 
same manner, especially the learned, because they do not know 
that any one can think only exteriorly. They are not in falla- 
cies by means of any confirmations of appearances ; therefore 
they know and perceive that murders, adulteries, thefts, and 
false testimony are sins, and for that reason shun them; also 
that malice is not wisdom, and that craftiness is not intelli- 
gence; and when they hear ingenious reasonings founded in 
fallacies, they wonder and smile to themselves. The reason 
hereof is, because in them there is no veil between the interiors 
and the exteriors, or between the spiritual and the natural 
things of the mind, as there is in the sensual, therefore they 
receive influx from heaven, by which they see such things inte- 
riorly. They speak with more simplicity and sincerity than 
others, and place wisdom not in speaking well, but in living 
well. They are comparatively like lambs and sheep, while those 
who are in self-derived prudence are like wolves and foxes: they 
are like those who dwell in a house, and through its windows 
see the heavens; but those who are in self-derived prudence 
are like those who dwell in a cellar, and through their windows 
see nothing but what is under ground: and they are like those 
who stand upon a mountain, and see such as are in self-derived 
prudence wandering below in valleys and woods. Hence it may 
appear that prudence which 1s_not self-derived, is prudence 
from the Lord, similar to self-derived prudence as to its appear- 
ance in externals, but totally different in internals. In inter- 
nals, prudence which is not self-derived appears in the spiritual 
world as a man, but self-derived prudence as an image, appear- 
ing to have life from this cireumstance only, that those who 
are in it have still rationality and liberty, or a faculty of under- 
standing and willing, and thence of speaking and acting; and 
that by means of these faculties they can also bear the semblance 
of men. The reason why they are such images, is, because 
evils and falses are not alive, but only goods and truths; and 

232 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 311, 312 


as they know this by means of their rationality (for if they did 
not know it, they would not put on such appearance), therefore 
in their semblances of men they possess human vitality. Who 
does not know that the quality of a man is determined by 
what he is interiorly ; consequently, that he is a real man who 
is interiorly such as he wishes to seem exteriorly, and that he 
is a semblance or counterfeit, who is only a man exteriorly and 
not interiorly, Think as you speak in favour of God, of religion, 
and of justice and sincerity, and you will be a man; then the 
Divine freebie will be your prudence, and you will perceive 
in others that self-derived prudence is insanity. 

312. Il. Zhata man from self-derived prudence persuades 
himself, and confirms in himself the idea, that every good and 
truth 1s im and from himself, and in like manner every evil and 
Jalsity. Institute an argumentation or course of reasoning from 
analogy between natural good and truth and spiritual good and 
truth. Inquire what is true and good in the sight of the eye: 
is not that true therein which is called beautiful, and that good 
therein which is called delightful? for delight is felt in seeing 
beautiful objects. Inquire what is true and good in the sense 
of hearing: is not that true therein which is called harmonious, 
and that good therein which is called sweet and pleasant? for 
sweetness or pleasure is felt in hearing harmonious sounds. It 
is the same with the other senses. Hence it is evident what 
are natural truth and good. Consider now what are spiritual 
truth and good. Is spiritual truth any thing but the beauty and 
harmony of spiritual things and objects? And is spiritual 
good any thing else but the delight and pleasure arising from a 
perception of their beauty or harmony? Let us now see whether 
any thing can be asserted of the one which is not applicable 
to the other, or of What is natural and not of what is spiritual. 
Of that which is natural it is said, that what is beautiful and 
delightful to the eye flows from external objects, and what is 
harmonious and sweet to the ear flows from instruments: in 
what respect is it different with the organic substances of the. 
mind? It is said of the latter, that those things (viz. beauty 
and delight) are in them, and of the former, that they flow 
into them, or impress them; but if it be asked, why it is said 
that they flow in, or enter by influx, no other answer can be 
given than that there appears to be a distance between the 
organ of sense and that which impresses or flows into it. If it 
be asked why, in the other case, it is said of spiritual objects 
that they are in the mind and its organized substances, no 
other answer can be given than that there does not appear to 
be any distance between them. Consequently, it is the ap- 
pearance of distance which causes a different notion to exist 
respecting the things which a man thinks and perceives, and 
those which he sees and hears. This falls to the ground, how- 

233 


312, 318 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


ever, when it is known that the spiritual principle does not 
exist in distance as the natural does. Think of the sun and 
moon, or of Rome and Constantinople: do they not exist in 
thought without distance, provided such thought be not con- 
nected with experience acquired by sight or by hearing? Why 
then do you persuade yourself, because distance does not ap- 
pear in thought, that good and truth, also evil and falsity, 
exist there, and do not enter by influx? To this I will add a 
fact known by experience, and which is common in the spiritual 
world. One spirit can infuse his thoughts and affections into 
another spirit, without the other’s knowing but that the same 
is of his own thought and affection; this is called in that world 
thinking from and in another. I have seen it a thousand times, 
and have also done it a hundred times myself; yet the appear- 
ance of distance was considerable; but as soon as they knew 
that it was another who infused those thoughts and affections, 
they were angry, and turned themselves away, acknowledging 
nevertheless that distance, unless it be discovered, does not 
appear, in the internal sight or thought, as it does in the ex- 
ternal sight or eye, and that hence it is thought to enter into 
the latter by influx. To this fact I can add my own daily expe- 
rience: evil spirits having often injected evils and falsities into 
my thoughts, which appeared to me as if they were in myself, 
and from myself, or as if I thought them myself; but as I 
knew that they were evils and falses, I endeavoured to find out 
who injected them, when they were detected and driven away, 
and were at a considerable distance from me. Hence it may 
appear that all evil with its falsity flows from hell, that all good 
with its trath flows from the Lord, and that they both appear 
as if they were in man. 

313. The nature and quality of those who are in self-derived 
prudence, and of those who are in prudence not self-derived, 
and thence in the Divine Providence, is described in the Word by 
Adam and his wife Eve in the garden of Eden, where there were 
two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil; and by their eating of the latter. That by Adam and 
his wife Eve, in the internal or spiritual sense, is meant and 
described the Lord’s most ancient church upon this earth, which 
was more noble and celestial than any that succeeded it, may 
be seen above, n. 241. By the rest is signified as follows: by 
the garden of Eden, the wisdom of the men of that church; by 
the tree of life, the Lord with respect to his Divine Providence ; 
and by the tree of knowledge, man with respect to his self 
derived prudence; by the serpent, the sensuality and proprium 
of man, which in itself is selflove, and the pride of his own 
intelligence, consequently the devil and satan; and by eat- 
ing of the tree of knowledge, the appropriation of good and 
truth, as if they were not from the Lord and consequently of 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. — 3818, 814 


the Lord, but from man himself and consequently of man, that 
is, his own: and as good and truth are things really divine in 
man, for by good is meant the whole of love, and by truth the 
whole of wisdom, therefore if a man claims them to himself ag 
his own, he cannot but think himself like a god. On this account 
the serpent said, “In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes 
shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and 
evil” (Gen. iii. 5). So also do those think in hell who are in 
self-love, and thence in the pride of selfderived intelligence. 
By the condemnation of the serpent is signified the condemnation 
of man’s own proper love and proper intelligence; by the con- 
demnation of Eve, that of the voluntary proprium ; and by the 
condemnation of Adam, that of the intellectual proprium; by 
thorns and thistles, which the earth shall bring forth, is signified 
“mere falsity and evil; by their being driven out of the garden 
is signified the deprivation of wisdom; by the guarding of the 
way to the tree of life, the Lord’s provident care to protect from 
violation the holy things of the Word and of the church ; by 
the fig-leaves with which they covered their nakedness, moral 
truths, under which were concealed the things appertaining to 
their love and pride; and by the coats of skins, with which 
they were afterwards clothed, are signified appearances of truth, 
in which alone they were principled. This is the spiritual 
meaning of those things. He that chooses may remain in the 
literal sense, only he should know that it is so understood in 
heaven. 

314. What sort of persons they are who are infatuated by 
self-derived intelligence may appear from their imaginations 
in matters of interior judgment; as, for example, concerning 
influx, thought, and lite. Concerning Ivrrvx, they think in- 
versely ; as that the sight of the eye flows into the internal sight 
of the mind, which is the understanding, and that the hearing 
of the ear flows into the internal hearing, which is also the 
understanding ; and they do not perceive that the understanding 
from the will flows into the eye and the ear, and not only con- 
stitutes those senses, but also uses them as its instruments in 
the natural world. Because this is not according to appearance, 
they do not perceive it: andif it be affirmed that what‘is natural 
does not flow into what is spiritual, but what is spiritual into 
what is natural, still they think, What is that which is spiritual 
but something more purely natural? Moreover, does it not 
appear, that when the eye sees any beautiful object, or the ear 
hears any harmonious sound, the mind, which is the under- 
standing and will, is delighted, not knowing that the eye does 
not see from itself, or the tongue taste from itself, or the nose 
smell from itself, or the skin feel from itself, but that it is the 
man’s mind or spirit which there perceives such things by the 
sense, and thence is affected according to the quality of the 

235 


314— 317 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


sense? But still the man’s mind or spirit does not feel them 
from itself, but from the Lord; and to think otherwise is to 
think from appearances, and, if it be confirmed, from fallacies. 
Concerning TnHoveut, they say, that it is something modified 
in the air, varied according to its objects, and enlarged in 
proportion as it is cultivated; therefore, that ideas of thought 
are images, like meteors appearing in the air; and that the 
memory is a table upon which they are impressed ; not knowing 
that thoughts exist alike in substances purely organic, as the 
sight and hearing do in theirs. Let them only look into the 
brain, and they will see that it is fullof such substances. Ifyou 
injure them you bring on a delirium: destroy them, and you die. 
But what thought is, and also what memory is, may be seen 
above, n. 279, towards the end. Concerning Lirn, they know 
no other than that it is a certain activity of nature, which causes 
itself to be felt diversely, as the living body moves itself organi- 
cally. If it be alleged, that in this case nature lives, this they 
deny, but maintain that nature gives life. If you say, Is not 
life dissipated when the body dies ? they answer, that life remains 
in a particle of air which is called the soul. If you say, What 
then is God? is not He life itself? here they are silent, and 
will not declare what they think: and if you say, Will you not 
acknowledge that the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom are 
life itself? they answer, What is love, and what is wisdom ? 
For in their fallacies they do not see what love and wisdom are, 
or what God is. These observations are adduced, that it may 
be seen how a man is infatuated by self-derived prudence, 
because he draws all his conclusions from appearances, and 
thence from fallacies. 

316. The reason why self-derived prudence persuades and 
confirms the idea that every good and truth is from man and in 
_man, is, because self-derived prudence is the man’s intellectual 
proprium, flowing from selflove, which is the man’s voluntary 
proprium, and that which is his proprium cannot do otherwise 
than make all things his own; for it cannot be elevated by him. 
All who are led by the Divine Providence of the Lord are 
elevated above their proprium, and then they see that all good 
and truth are from the Lord: they even see, also, that what is 
from the Lord in a man is perpetually of the Lord, and never 
of the man. He that thinks otherwise is like one who, having 
goods of his master deposited in his hands, lays claim to them 
or appropriates them to himself as his own, and who is there- 
fore not a steward, but a thief; and as a man’s proprium is 
nothing but evil, therefore he also immerses them into his evil, 
by which they are consumed, like pearls cast into dung, or 
dissolved in acids. 

817. Ill. That every thing, of which a man is persuaded 
and in which he is confirmed, remains as his proprium. It is 
236 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 317, 318 


thought by many that no truth can be seen by a man except 
from things confirmed; but this is false. In things which re- 
late to the civil government and economy of a kingdom or state, 
what is useful and good cannot be seen unless several of the 
statutes and ordinances therein be known; or in matters of a 
judicial nature, unless laws be known; or in natural things, as 
physics, chemistry, anatomy, mechanics, and the like, unless 
a man be instructed in sciences; but in things purely of a 
rational, moral, and spiritual nature, truths appear merely from 
their own light, provided a man, by means of a good education, 
be made in some degree rational, moral, and spiritual. The 
reason is because every man, with respect to his spirit, which 
is that which thinks, is in the spiritual world, and one among 
those who live there, consequently he is in spiritual light, which 
illuminates the interiors of his understanding, and, as it were, 
dictates ; for spiritual light in its essence is the divine truth of 
the Lord’s divine wisdom. Hence a man has power to think 
analytically, to form conclusions concerning what is just and 
right in judgments, to see honesty in moral life, and good in 
spiritual life, and likewise many truths which do not fall into 
darkness except by the confirmation of falsities: these things 
a man sees, in the same manner as he sees the mind of another 
in his face, and perceives his affections from the sound of his 
voice, without any other knowledge than what is inherent in 
every one. Why should not a man see by influx, in a certain 
degree, the interiors of his life, which are spiritual and moral, 
when there is no animal which does not by influx know the 
things necessary for it which are natural? Birds know how 
to make their nests, lay their eggs, hatch their young, and 
choose their food; besides other wonderful things, which are 
called instinct. 

318. But how a man’s state is changed by confirmations 
and consequent persuasions shall now be shown in the following 
order. 1. That there is nothing but what may be confirmed, 
and falsity more easily than truth. 2. That when the falsity is 
confirmed, truth does not appear; but that from confirmed 
truth the falsity appears. 3. That to be able to confirm what- 
ever a man pleases is not intelligence, but only ingenuity, which 
may exist even in the most wicked. 4. That there may be 
intellectual confirmation, and not at the same ‘time voluntary; 
but that all voluntary confirmation is also intellectual. 5. That 
the voluntary and at the same time the intellectual confirmation 
of evil, causes a man to think that selfderived prudence is all, 
and the Divine Providence nothing; but not the intellectual 
confirmation of it alone. 6. That every thing confirmed by the 
will, and at the same time by the understanding, remains to 
eternity ; but not that which is confirmed by the understanding 
only. eh respect to the First, Zhat there is nothing but what 


- 


3818. ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


may be confirmed, and falsity more easily than truth. What may 
not be confirmed, when it is confirmed by Atheists that God 
is not the creator of the universe, but that nature is the creator 
of herself; that religion is only an external means of restraint, 
and calculated for the simple and the vulgar; that a man is 
similar to a beast, and that he dies in like manner? What may 
not be confirmed, when it is confirmed that adulteries are allow- 
able, also clandestine thefts, frauds, and deceitful arts; that 
cunning is intelligence, and malice wisdom? Who does not 
confirm his own heresy? Are there not volumes full of con- 
firmations in favour of the two reigning heresies in the Christian 
world? If you establish ten heresies of even an abstruse nature, 
and tell an ingenious person to confirm them, he will confirm 
them all. If you afterwards view them only from their con- 
firmations, will you not see falsities as if they were truths? As 
every false principle has a lucid appearance in the natural man, 
arising from his appearances and fallacies, which is not the case 
with truth except in the spiritual man, it is evident that falsity 
can be confirmed more easily than truth. In order that it may 
be known that every falsity and every evil can be confirmed, in 
such a manner that the falsity may appear true and the evil 
good, take the following example: let it be confirmed that light 
is darkness and darkness light. May it not be said, What is 
light in itself? Is it any thing but a certain appearance in the 
eye according to its state? What is light when the eye is shut? 
Have not bats and owls such eyes that they see light as dark- 
ness, and darkness as light? I have heard some persons say 
that they can see in the same manner, and of the infernals I 
have heard that although they are in darkness they see one 
another. Do not men see light at midnight in their dreams ? 
Is not darkness therefore light, and light darkness? But it 
may be answered, What is this to the purpose? Light is light, 
as truth is truth ; and darkness is darkness, as falsity is falsity. 
Take another example: and let it be confirmed that a raven is 
white. May it not be said, that his blackness is only a shade 
which is not his real colour? His feathers are inwardly white, 
and so is his body; and these are the substances of which he 
consists. Since his blackness is only a shade, therefore a raven 
turns white when he grows old, and some such have been seen. 
What is black in itself but white? Grind black glass, and you 
will see that the powder is white. Therefore, when you call a 
raven black, you speak from the shade and not from the reality. 
But it may be answered, What is this to the purpose? At this 
rate it might be said that all birds are white. These cases, 
although they are contrary to sound reason, are adduced, to 
the end it may be seen, that falsity diametrically opposite to 
truth, and evil diametrically opposite to good, may be confirmed. 
Sxconpiy, That when falsity is confirmed, truth does not appear ; 
238 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 318: 


but that from confirmed truth, falsity appears. All falsity is in 
the dark, and all truth in the light; and in the dark nothing. 
appears, nor can it even be known what it is, but by feeling it. 
Not so in the light. Therefore, also, in the Word, falsities are 
called darkness, and thence those who are in falsities are said 
to walk in darkness and in the shadow of death. On the other 
hand, truths are there called light, and thence those who are in 
truths are said to walk in the light, and are called the children 
of light. That when the falsity is confirmed truth does not 
appear, and that from confirmed truth falsity does appear, is. 
evident from many considerations. [or example: who would 
see any spiritual truth, if the Word did not teach it? Would 
not there prevail thick darkness, which could not be dispelled 
but by the lght in which the Word is, and with such as 
should desire to be enlightened? What heretic can see his 
own falsities except he admit the genuine truth of the church? 
He does not see them before. I have discoursed with those 
who have confirmed themselves in faith separated from charity, 
and asked them whether they did not see so many things in the 
Word about love and charity, about works and actions, and 
about keeping the commandments, with the declarations that 
he is happy and wise who does them, and he is foolish who. 
does them not. They said, that when they read those things 
they saw no otherwise than that they are faith, and so passed 
them over as it were with their eyes shut. Those who have 
confirmed themselves in falsities are like those who see images. 
pictured on a wall, and when in the shade of evening those pic- 
tures seem to them in their fantasy like a horse or a man, which. 
visionary image is dispelled by the influent light of day. Who 
can perceive the spiritual defilement of adultery, unless he is in 
the spiritual purity of chastity? Who can feel the cruelty of 
revenge, but he that is in good arising from the love of his 
neighbour. What adulterer, or revengeful person, does not 
sneer at those who call their delights infernal, and on the other 
hand the delights of conjugial and neighbourly love celestial, 
and so on? ‘Turrpty, Zhat to be able to confirm whatever a 
man pleases rs not intelligence, but only ingenuity, which may. 
exist even im the most wicked. There are some very dextrous 
confirmers, who know no truth, and yet can confirm both truth 
and falsity. Some of them say, What is truth? Is there any 
such thing existing? Is not that truth which I make true? 
Nevertheless, these are thought intelligent in the world, but they 
are only plasterers of the wall. None are intelligent but those 
who perceive truth to be truth, and confirm the same by truths 
continually perceived. These two kinds of men are not easily 
distinguished, because it is not easy to distinguish between the 
light of confirmation and the light of the perception of truth; 
nor does it appear otherwise than that those who are in the light 
239 


318, 319 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


of confirmation are also in the light of the perception of truth; 
when, nevertheless, the difference is as great as between the 
light of infatuation and genuine light; and the light of infatua- 
tion in the spiritual world is of such a nature, that it is turned 
into darkness when, genuine light flows in. Such infatuating 
light have many in hell, who, when they are admitted into gen- 
uine light, see nothing at all. Hence it is evident, that to be 
able to confirm whatever a man pleases, is only ingenuity, at- 
tainable even by the most wicked. Fourruty, That there may 
be intellectual confirmation, and not at the same time voluntary; 
but that all voluntary confirmation is also intellectual. Take 
these examples by way of illustration. Those who confirm faith 
separate from charity, and yet live the life of charity, and in 
general those who confirm the falsity of doctrine, and yet do not 
live according to it, are those who are in intellectual confirma- 
tion, and not at the same time in voluntary confirmation; but 
those who confirm the falsity of doctrine, and live according to 
it, are those who are in voluntary and at the same time in 
intellectual confirmation. The reason hereof is, because the 
understanding does not flow into the will, but the will into the 
understanding. Hence, also, it is evident what the falsity of 
evil is, and what the falsity which is not of evil. The reason 
why the falsity which is not of evil can be conjoined with good, 
but not the falsity of evil, is, because the former is the falsity 
in the understanding and not in the will, while the latter is the 
falsity in the understanding from evil in the will. Firrnty, 
Lhat the voluntary and at the same time the intellectual confir- 
mation of evil, causes a man to think that self-derived prudence 
as all, and the Divine Providence nothing ; but not the intellec- 
tual confirmation of it alone. There are many who confirm the 
efficacy of self-derived prudence in themselves from appearances 
in the world, but yet do not deny the Divine Providence, and 
theirs is only intellectual confirmation; while with such as 
deny at the same time the Divine Providence, the confirmation 
is also voluntary; but the latter, together with persuasion, 
takes place principally in those who are worshipers of nature, 
and at the same time worshipers of themselves. Srxruty, 
That every thing confirmed by the will, and at the same time by 
the understanding, remains to eternity ; but not that which as 
confirmed by the understanding only ; for that which is of the 
understanding only, is not within the man, but without him, 
since it is only in his thought; and nothing enters into a man, 
and is appropriated to him, but what is received by the will; for 
this becomes of his life’s love. That this abides to eternity, 
shall be shown in the next number. 

319. The reason why every thing confirmed in the will, and 
at the same time by the understanding, remains to eternity, is, 
because every one is his own love, and his love is of his will; 

240 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 319 


also, because every man is his own good or his own evil; for all 
that is called good which is of the love, and that evil which is 
opposed to it. As a man is his own love, he is also the form of 
his own love, and may be called the organ of his life’s love. 
It was said above, n. 279, that the affections of a man’s love 
and the thoughts thence derived, are changes and variations of 
the state and form of the organic substances of his mind, and 
it shall now be shown what is the nature and quality of those 
changes. An idea of them may be had from the heart and 
lungs, because there are alternate expansions and compressions, 
or dilatations and contractions, which in the heart are called its 
systole and diastole; and in the lungs respirations, which are 
reciprocal extensions and retractions, or distensions and coarcta- 
tions of its lobes: these are the changes and variations of the 
state of the heart and lungs. The like takes place in the other 
viscera of the body, and in the parts thereof, by which the 
blood and animal juices are received and circulated. There are 
also similar changes and variations of state in the organic forms 
of the mind, which, as was shown above, are the subjects of a 
man’s affections and thoughts; with this difference, that the 
expansions and compressions, or reciprocations, of the latter, 
are respectively in so much greater perfection, that they cannot 
be expressed in words of natural language, but only in words 
of spiritual language, which can only import, that they are 
vortical ingyrations and egyrations, after the manner of per- 
petual spiral circumflexions, wonderfully confasciculated into 
forms receptive of life. But the nature of these purely organic 
substances and forms in the wicked and in the good shall now 
be explained. With the good they are spirally convoluted for- 
wards, but with the wicked backwards; and those which are 
spirally convoluted forwards are turned to the Lord, and receive 
influx from him; but those which are spirally convoluted back- 
wards are turned towards hell, and receive influx from thence. 
It is to be observed, that in proportion as they are turned back- 
wards, they are open behind, and closed before; but, on the 
contrary, in proportion as they are turned forwards, they are 
open before and closed behind. Hence it may appear what 
kind of form or what kind of organ a wicked man is, and what 
kind of form or what kind of organ a good man is, and that 
they are turned contrariwise; and as an inversion once induced 
cannot be retwisted, it is evident that such as it is when a man 
dies it remains to eternity. It is the love of the man’s will 
which makes this turning, or which converts and inverts; for, 
as was said above, every man is his own love. Hence it is, that 
every one after death goes in the way of his love,—he who is in 
good love goes to heaven, and he who is in evil love to hell; nor 
does he rest till he is in that society where his ruling love is; 
241 


3819321 ANGELIC. WISDOM CONCERNING 


and, what is wonderful, every one knows the way, as though he 
smelt it. ) di 
820. IV. That if a man would believe, as is the truth, that 
every thing good and true ws from the Lord, and every thing evil 
and false from hell, he would neither appropriate to himself 
good, and make wt meritorious, nor would he appropriate to 
himself evil, and make himself guilty of it. But as these things 
are contrary to the belief of those who have confirmed in them- 
selves the appearance that wisdom and prudence are from man, » 
and do not flow in according to the state of the mind’s organiza- . 
tion, treated of above, n. 819, therefore they shall be demon- 
strated; and that it may be done distinctly, the following order 
shall be observed:—1. That he that confirms in himself the ap- 
pearance that wisdom and prudence are from man, and thence 
in him as his own, cannot see otherwise than that if this were 
not the case he would not be a man, but either a beast ora 
statue; when, nevertheless, the contrary is true. 2. That to 
believe and think, as is the truth, that every thing good and true - 
is from the Lord, and every thing evil and false from hell, ap- 
pears to be impossible, when, nevertheless, it is truly human and 
thence angelic. 8. That so to believe and think is impossible to 
those who do not acknowledge the Lord’s divinity, and who do 
not acknowledge evils to be sins ; but that it is possible to those. 
who. acknowledge these two things. 4. That those who are in 
the acknowledgment of these two things only reflect upon evils 
in themselves, and, in proportion as they shun and hold them in 
aversion as sins, cast. them out from themselves into hell from 
whence they come. 5. That thus the Divine Providence neither 
appropriates evil nor good to any one, but that self-derived pru- 
dence appropriates both. 
321. But these propositions shall be explained in the order 
proposed. First, Zhat he that confirms in himself the appear- 
ance that wisdom and prudence are from and in man as his own, 
cannot see otherwise than that of this were not the case he would 
not be a man, but either a beast or a statue ; when, nevertheless, 
the contrary ts true. It is a law of the Divine Providence, that 
aman should think as from himself, and should act prudently » 
as from himself, but yet should acknowledge that he does so 
from the Lord. Hence it follows, that he that thinks and acts 
prudently as from himself, and, at the same time, acknowledges 
that he does so from the Lord, is a man; but not he that con-— 
firms in himself an idea that all that he thinks and does is from 
himself; or he that, because he knows that. wisdom and pru- 
dence are from God, yet waits for influx; for the latter becomes. 
like a statue, and the former like a beast. That he that waits 
for influx is like a statue, is evident; for he must stand or sit: 
motionless, with his hands hanging down, and his eyes either. 
242 se 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 321 


shut or wide open without motion, neither thinking nor breath- 
ing; and in such case what life is there in him? That he that 
believes all he thinks and does to be from himself is not unlike 
a beast, may also be evident; because he thinks only from the 
natural mind, which every man has in common with beasts, 
and not from the rational spiritual mind, which is the mind 
truly human; for this latter mind acknowledges that God alone 
thinks from himself, and that a man thinks from God ; there- 
fore, also, men who think only from the natural mind know no 
difference between a man and a beast, except that the former 
speaks and the latter utters sounds, and they imagine that they 
both die alike. Of those who wait for influx, it may be further 
observed that, with the exception of a few who from their hearts 
desire it, they do not receive any influx. These sometimes re- 
ceive some answer by lively perception in thought, or by tacit 
speech therein, but rarely by any manifest speech; and then it 
is to this effect, that they may think and act as they will or as 
they can, and that he that acts wisely is a wise man, and he 
that acts foolishly is a fool. They are never instructed what 
they ought to believe and to do; and this to the end that human 
rationality and liberty may not be destroyed, which consists in 
every one’s acting from free-will according to reason, in all ap- 
pearance as from himself. Those who are instructed by influx 
what they ought to believe and to do, are not instructed by the 
Lord, or by any angel of heaven, but by some spirit of an en- 
thusiast, Quaker or Moravian, and are seduced. All influx from 
the Lord is effected by illumination of the understanding, by 
the affection of truth, and by the influx of the latter into the 
former. Srconpiry, Zhat to believe and think, as is the truth, 
that every thing good and true is from the Lord, and every thing 
evil and false from hell, appears to be impossible y when, neverthe- 
less, et is truly human and thence angelic. To believe and think 
that every thing good and true is from God appears possible, pro- 
vided nothing further be said; and the reason is, that it is con- 
formable to theological faith, against which it is not allowable 
to think; but to believe and think that every thing evil and false 
is from hell appears impossible, because in this case it would 
also be believed that a man could not think any thing. Yet 
every man thinks as from himself, although from hell, because 
it is the gift of the Lord to every one, that thought, whenceso- 
ever it comes, shall appear in him as his own; otherwise a man 
would not live as a man; nor could he be brought out of hell, 
and introduced into heaven, that is to say, be reformed, as is 
abundantly shown above. Therefore, also, the Lord grants to 
every man to know, and thence to think, that he is in hell if he 
is in evil, and that he thinks from hell if he thinks from evil ; 
he also grants him to think of the means whereby he may es- 
cape out of hell, and not think from thence, but enter into 
243 Q 


321 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


heaven, and there think from the Lord: and he gives him free. 
dom of election; from which considerations it may be seen that 
aman can think what is evil and false as from himself, and can 
also think that this or that is evil and false; consequently that 
it is only an appearance that it is from himselt, without which 
appearance he would not be a man. The essential human 
principle, and thence the angelic, consists in thinking from the 
truth; and it is the truth, that a man does not think from him- 
self, but that it is granted him by the Lord to think in all ap- 
pearance as from himself. Tutrpry, Zhat so to believe and 
think is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the Lord’s 
divinity, and who do not acknowledge evils to be sins ; but that a 
is possible to those who acknowledge these two things. ‘The reason 
why it is impossible to those who do not acknowledge the Lord’s 
divinity, is, because the Lord alone grants to a man to think 
and will, and those who do not acknowledge the Lord’s divinity, 
being separated from him, imagine that they think from them- 
selves. The reason why it is also impossible to those who do 
not acknowledge that evils are sins, is, because they think from 
hell, and every one there supposes that he thinks from himself. 
That it is possible, however, to those who acknowledge the 
Lord’s divinity, and that evils are sins, may appear from what 
has been abundantly adduced above, n. 288—294. Fourruty, 
That those who are in the acknowledgment of those two things, 
only reflect upon evils in themselves, and in proportion as they 
shun and hold them in aversion as sins, cast them out into helt 
from whence they come. Who does not or may not know, that 
evil is trom hell, and that good is from heaven? Who may not 
thence know, that in proportion as a man shuns evil and holds 
it in aversion, he shuns hell and holds it in aversion? And 
who may not thence know, that in proportion as any one shuns 
and holds evil in aversion, he wills good and loves it; therefore, 
that in the same proportion he is brought out of hell by the 
Lord, and led to heaven? These things every rational man may 
see plainly, provided he knows that there is a heaven and a hell, 
and that evil and good have each their separate origin. Nowif 
aman reflects upon evils in himself, which is the same thing as 
to examine himself, and shuns them, he then disengages himself 
from hell, casting it behind him, and introduces himself into 
heaven, where he sees the Lord face to face. It is said that the 
man does this; but he only does it seemingly from himself, and 
therefore from the Lord. When a man acknowledges this truth 
from a good heart and pious faith, it lies inwardly concealed in 
every thing that he thinks and does afterwards as from himself; 
like the prolific principle in seed, which internally accompanies 
it even until the production of new seed; and like the pleasure 
of appetite for such food as a man has once found to be salu- 
tary: in a word, it is like the heart and soul in every thing 
24-4 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 3821, 322 


that he thinks and does. Firruty; That thus the Divine Prow- 
dence nerther appropriates evil nor good to any one, but that self- 
derived prudence appropriates both. This follows as a consequence 
of all that has been said. The end of the Divine Providence is 
good; this it consequently intends in every operation; therefore, 
it does not appropriate good to any one, for thereby such good 
would become meritorious; neither does it appropriate evil to 
any one, for thereby it would make him guilty of evil. Yet a 
man does both from his proprium, because that is nothing but 
evil; the proprium of his will being self-love, and the proprium 
of his understanding the pride of self-derived intelligence, and 
from the latter proceeds self-derived prudence. 


THAT EVERY MAN MAY BE REFORMED, AND THAT THERE IS NO 
SUCH THING AS PREDESTINATION. 


322. Sounn reason dictates that all are predestined to hea- 
ven and none to hell; for all are born men, and thence the 
image of God is inthem. The image of God in them consists in 
their being able to understand truth, and to do good; and to be 
able to understand truth is from the divine wisdom, and to be 
able to do good is from the divine love. This power is the 
image of God, which abides in a man of sound mind, and is 
not eradicated. Hence it is, that he can be made a civil and 
moral man; and he that is a civil and moral man can also be 
made spiritual, for what is civil and moral is the receptacle of 
what is spiritual. He that knows the laws of the kingdom of 
which he is a citizen, and lives according to them, is called a 
civil man, and he that makes those laws his morals and his 
virtues, and lives conformably to them from reason, is called a 
moral man. I will now tell you how civil and moral life is a 
receptacle of spiritual life: live according to those laws, con- 
sidered not only as civil and moral, but also as divine laws, and 
you will be a spiritual man. There scarcely exists a nation so 
barbarous as not to have given the sanction of its laws to the 
prohibition of committing murder, corrupting the wife of ano-- 
ther, stealing, false testimony, and the violation of another’s 
rights. These laws are observed by the civil and moral man, 
in order that he may be, or seem to be, a good citizen; but if 
he does not at the same time consider these laws as divine, he 
is only a civil and moral natural man: if he considers them as 
_ divine, he becomes a civil and moral spiritual man. The dif: 
ference is, that the latter is a good citizen not only of an earthly 
kingdom, but also of the heavenly kingdom ; while the former 
is a good citizen of an earthly kingdom, but not of the heavenly 

245 | 


822, 323 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


kingdom. The goods which they do distinguish them: the 
goods which civil and moral natural men do, are not goods in 
themselves, for the man and the world are in them; whereas 
the goods which civil and moral spiritual men do, are in them- 
selves goods, because the Lord and heaven are in them. Hence 
it is evident that every man, since he is born such that he can 
be made a civil and moral natural man, is also born such that 
he can be made a civil and moral spiritual man. It is only to 
acknowledge God, and not to do evils because they are in oppo- 
sition to God, but to do good because it is agreeable to him. 
By this, spirit enters into a man’s civil and moral actions, and 
they receive life; but without it there is no spirit in them, and 
consequently they have no life; therefore the natural man, how- 
ever civilly and morally he may act, is called dead, but the 
spiritual man is called alive. It is of the Lord’s Divine Provi- 
dence, that every nation has some religion, and the foundation 
of all religion is an acknowledgment that there is a God; 
otherwise it is not called a religion; and every nation, which 
lives according to its religion, that is, which refrains from evil 
because it is against its God, receives something spiritual into 
its natural principle. What person, when he hears any Gentile 
say he will not do this or that because it is against his God, 
does not say within himself, Will not this man be saved? It 
appears as if it could not be otherwise: this sound reason dic- 
tates to him. On the other hand, what person when he hears 
a Christian say, [ make no account of this or that evil; what 
signifies its being said to be against God? does not say within 
himself, Can this man be saved? It appears as if he could 
not: this also sound reason dictates. If he says, I was born a 
Christian, have been baptized, have known the Lord, have read 
the Word, and received the sacrament; do these things avail 
any thing, when he breathes murder, or revenge leading to 
murder, and does not consider as sins adultery, secret theft, 
false testimony, or lies, and various violences? Does such a 
one think any thing of God or of life eternal? Does he think 
that they have any existence? Does not sound reason dictate 
that such a one cannot be saved? ‘These things are said of the 
Christian, because thé Gentile thinks more of God from religion 
in his life than the Christian does. But of this more shall 
be said below, in the following order. I. That the end of crea- 
tion is a heaven out of the human race. II. That thence it is 
of the Divine Providence that every man is capable of being 
saved, and that those are saved who acknowledge a God and 
lead a good life. III. That it is a man’s own fault if he is not 
saved. IV. That thus all are predestined to heaven, and none | 
to hell: ce 

323. I. That the end of creation is a heaven out of the 
human race. That beaven consists only of such as were born 

246 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 323, 324 


men, is shown in the work concerning Haven anp HE x, 
fae at London in the year 1758, and also above; and as 
1eaven does not consist of any others, it follows that the end of 
creation is a heaven out of the human race. That this was the 
end of creation was indeed shown above, n. 27—45; but the 
same will be still more manifestly seen from an explanation of 
the following points. 1. That every man is created to live to 
eternity. 2. That every man is created to live to eternity in a 
state of happiness. 3. That therefore every man is created to go 
to heaven. 4. That the divine love cannot do otherwise than 
desire it, and that the divine wisdom cannot do otherwise than 
provide for it. 

324. Since from these considerations it may also be seen 
that the Divine Providence is no other predestination than to 
heaven, and that it cannot be changed into any other, it is 
here to be demonstrated, in the order proposed, that the end 
of creation is a heaven out of the human race. F inst, That 
every man rs created to live to eternity. Tn the treatise concern- 
ing Tae Divine Love anp tHe Drying Wispom, Parts III. and 
V., it is shown that in every man there are three degrees of 
lite, which are called natural, spiritual, and celestial, and that 
these three degrees are actually in every one; but that in beasts 
there is only one degree of life, which is similar to the ultimate 
degree in a man, called natural. From this it follows, that, 
by the elevation of his life to the Lord, a man is capable, though 
beasts are not, of being brought into such a state as to be able 
to understand those things which are of the divine wisdom, 
and to will those things which are of the divine love, conse- 
quently to receive the divine influence; and he that can re- 
ceive the Divine influence, go as to see and perceive it in him- 
self, cannot be otherwise than conjoined with the Lord, and 
from that conjunction cannot but live to eternity. What would 
the Lord be, with all his creation of the universe, if he had 
not also created images and likenesses of himself, to whom he 
might communicate his divine influence? In any other case, 
would it not be like causing something to be and not to be, or 
to exist and not to exist, and this for no other purpose but that 
he might contemplate at a distance a mere shifting of scenes . 
and continual variations as upon a theatre? To what purpose 
would the divine principle be in men, were it not to the end 
that they might serve as subjects to receive it more nearly, and 
to see and feel it? And as the Divine Being is a being of in- 
exhaustible glory, is it likely that he would keep it to himself, 
or indeed could he? For love wishes to communicate its own 
to another,—to give, indeed, as much of its own as it can; and 
what then must the Divine Love do, which is infinite? Can 
such love give, and then take away again? Would not this be 
giving San is to perish, which in itself internally is not any 

24 


3824 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


thing, because when it perishes it becomes nothing, there not 
being in it that which really exists? but He gives what really 
exists, or what does not cease to be, and that is eternal. In 
order that every man may live to eternity, that which is mortal 
about him is taken away, namely, his material body, which is 
taken away by death: thus his immortal part, which is his 
mind, is stripped naked, and then he becomes a spirit in a 
human form, his mind being that spirit. That the mind of 
man cannot die, the sages or wise men of antiquity saw very 
plainly ; for they said, How can the soul or mind die, when it 
has the faculty of acquiring wisdom? Their interior idea on 
this subject is known only to few at this day; but it descended 
into their common perception from heaven, and was this,—that 
God is wisdom itself, of which man is a partaker, and that God 
is immortal or eternal. As it has been permitted me to con- 
verse with angels, I will also relate something on this subject 
from experience. I have conversed with some who lived many 
years ago, with some who lived before the deluge and some after 
it, with some who lived in the Lord’s time, with one of his 
apostles, and with many who lived in the succeeding ages: they 
all seemed like men of a middle age, and said that they know 
not what death is, but only that there is such a thing as damna- 
tion. All indeed who have led a good life, when they go to 
heaven, enter into their juvenile age in the world, and continue 
in it to eternity, even though they were old and decrepit in the 
world ; and women, although they had been wrinkled and anti- 
quated, return to the flower of their youth and beauty. That 
every man after death lives to eternity is evident from the Word, 
where life in heaven is called life everlasting; as in Matthew 
xix. 29; xxv. 46; Mark x.17; Luke x. 25; xviii. 30; John 
iii. 15, 16, 86; v. 24, 25, 39; vi. 27, 40, 68; x11. 50; also, 
simply, life, Matt. xviii. 8, 9; John v. 40; xx. 31. The Lord 
said also to his disciples, “ Because I live, ye shall live also,” 
John xiv. 19; and concerning the resurrection, that God is the 
God of the living, and not the God of the dead; also, that 
they cannot die any more (Luke xx. 36, 38). Srconpiy, That 
every man is created to live to eternity in a state of happiness, 
follows of course; for he that wills that every man should live 
to eternity, wills also that he should live in a state of happt- 
ness. What would eternal life be without it? All love wills 
or desires the good of another. The love of parents desires 
the good of children; the love of the bridegroom and the hus- 
band desires the good of the bride and the wife ; and the love 
of friendship desires the good of friends: what then must not 
the divine love do? And what is good but delight? what divine 
good but eternal beatitude? All good is called good from its 
delight or beatitude. All indeed which is given and possessed 
is called good; but unless it be also delightful, it is sterile 
248 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. ous 


good, which is not good in itself. Hence it appears that 
eternal life is also eternal happiness. This state of man is the 
end and ‘purpose of creation. That only those who go to heaven 
are in this state, is not the Lord’s fault, but man’s. That 
the fault is in man will be seen in what follows. Turrpry, 
That therefore every man is created to go to heaven. This 
is the end of creation; but the reason why all do not go to 
heaven, is, because they imbibe the delights of hell, which 
are opposite to the beatitude of heaven; and those who are 
not in the beatitude of heaven cannot enter into heaven, for 
they cannot bear it. No one who enters the spiritual world is 
refused the liberty of ascending into heaven ; but he that, when 
he comes there, is in the delight of hell, has a palpitation at 
his heart, labours in his breathing, begins to lose all life, ig in 
anguish and torment, and rolls himself about like a serpent laid 
before the fire: this is the case, because opposites act against 
each other. Notwithstanding, as they were born men, and 
thence in the faculty of thinking and willing, consequently in 
the faculty of speaking and acting, they cannot die; but as 
they cannot live with any but those who are in a similar delight 
of life, they are sent to them; those who are in the delights of 
evil, and those who are in the delights of good, being respec- 
tively remanded to those who are like themselves. It is even 
allowed to every one to be in the delight of his evil, provided he 
does not infest those who are in the delight of good: but as evil 
cannot do otherwise than infest good, for in evil there is hatred 
against good, therefore lest they should do mischief, they are 
removed, and cast down into their proper places in hell, where 
their delight is turned to what is undelightful. This however 
does not prevent a man from being by creation, consequently 
by birth, of such a quality that he may go to heaven; for every 
one that dies an infant goes to heaven, is educated and instructed 
there as a man is in the world, and by the affection of good and 
truth imbibes wisdom and becomes an angel. The same might 
be the case with a man that is educated and instructed in the 
world; for the same capability which is in an infant is in him. 
Concerning infants in the spiritual world, see the work on 
Heaven anp Huetr, published in London in 1758, n. 329—345. 
The reason why it is not the same with many in the world, is, 
because they love the first. degree of their life, called the natural 
degree, and will not recede from it and become spiritual ; and 
the natural degree of life, considered in itself, loves nothing but 
self and the world; for it coheres with the bodily senses, which 
also communicate with the world: but the spiritual degree of 
life, considered in itself, loves the Lord and heaven, and also 
itself and the world; yet God and heaven as superior, principal, 
and governing, and self and the world as inferior, instrumental, 
249 


324, 325 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and subservient. Fourruty, Zhat the Divine Love cannot do 
otherwise than will it, and that the Divine Wisdom cannot do 
otherwise than provide for it. That the Divine Essence is divine 
love and divine wisdom, was fully shown in the treatise con- 
cerning THe Divine Love anp rue Divine Wispom. It is also 
demonstrated there, n. 358—370, that in every human embryo 
the Lord forms two receptacles,—one of the divine love, and the 
other of the divine wisdom,—the receptacle of divine love for 
the man’s future will, and the receptacle of divine wisdom for 
his future understanding, and that thus he endows every man 
with a faculty of willing good and of understanding truth. Now 
as every man has these two faculties given him from his birth 
by the Lord, and thence the Lord is in them as in his own in 
the man, it is evident that his divine love cannot will otherwise 
than that every man should go to heaven and there enjoy eter- 
nal beatitude, and also that his divine wisdom cannot do other- 
wise than provide for it. As, however, it is of his divine love 
that a man should feel heavenly beatitude in himself as his own, 
and this cannot be done unless he is kept perfectly in the ap- 
pearance that he thinks, wills, speaks, and acts from himself, 
therefore the Lord cannot lead him any otherwise than according 
to the laws of his Divine Providence. 

325. IL. That thence it is of the Divine Providence that every 
man rs capable of being saved, and that those are saved who ae- 
knowledge a God and lead a good life. That every one is ca- 
pable of being saved is evident from what has been demonstrated 
above. Some are of opinion that the church of the Lord is only 
in the Christian world, because the Lord is known there only, 
and the Word is there only; yet there are many who believe 
that the church of God is common, or extended and spread over 


the whole earth, consequently among those likewise who are. 


ignorant of the Lord, and have not the Word; urging, that this 
is not their fault, that there is no help for their ignorance, and 
that it is not consistent with the love and mercy of the Lord 
that any one should be born for hell, when they are nevertheless 
all equally men. Now as there is a belief among Christians,— 
among many at least, if not among all,—that the church is 
common, and it is also called a communion, it follows that there 
are some very common or general essentials of the church, which 
are the constituents of all religions, and form such communion. 
That these most common or general essentials are the acknow- 
ledgment of a God, and the good of life, will be seen in the 
following order. 1. That the acknowledgment of a God effects 
a conjunction of God with man, and of man with God, and that 
the denial of a God produces a disjunction. 2. That every one 
acknowledges God, and is joined to him, according to the good 
of his life. 8. That the good of life, or to live well, is to shun 
250 


— ees a 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 3825, 326 


evils because they are contrary to religion, therefore against 
God. 4. That these are the common essentials of all religions, 
by which every one may be saved. 

826. But these propositions are to be viewed and demon- 
strated separately. I. That the acknowledgment of a God effects 
a conjunction of God with man, and of man with God, and that 
the denial of a God produces a disjunction. Some may think 
that those who do not acknowledge a God can be saved as well 
as those who do, provided they lead a moral life; saying, What 
does acknowledgment signify? Does it not consist in thought 
only? Cannot I easily acknowledge, when I know for certain, 
that there isa God? I have heard of him, but I never saw 
him: let me see him, and I will believe. Such is the language 
of many who deny God, when it is permitted them to reason 
freely with one who acknowledges God. But that the acknow- 
ledgment of a God conjoins, and the denial of a God separates, 
shall be illustrated by some particulars known to me in the 
spiritual world. In that world, when any one thinks of another 
and desires to speak with him, the other is immediately present. 
This is common in the spiritual world, and never fails; the 
reason of which is, that in that world there is no distance, as 
in the natural world, but only an appearance of it. Another 
particular is, that as thought from some knowledge of another 
causes his presence, so love from some affection for another, 
causes conjunction with him, by which it comes to pass that 
they go together, converse in a friendly manner, dwell in one 
house or in one society, often meet, and do mutual good offices 
to each other. The reverse also takes place; for he that does 
not love another, more especially he that hates another, does 
not see or meet him, and the distance between them is in pro- 
portion to the degree in which there is a want of love, or in 
which hatred prevails. Even if he is present, and then remem- 
bers his hatred, he becomes invisible. From these particulars 
it may appear what is the cause of presence and of conjunction 
in the spiritual world, namely, that presence proceeds from the 
remembrance of another with a desire to see him, and conjune- 
tion proceeds from the affection which is of love. It is the same 
with all things which are in the human mind: therein are 
things innumerable, and all the particulars there are consociated ~ 
or conjoined according to affections, or as one thing loves an- 
other. This is spiritual conjunction, which is like itself both 
in things general and in things particular. This spiritual con- 
junction derives its origin from the conjunction of the Lord 
with the spiritual world and the natural world, in general and 
in particular. From this consideration it ig evident, that in 
Pragettion as any one acknowledges the Lord, and thinks of 
nim from knowledge, the Lord is present; and in proportion as 
any one acknowledges him from the affection of love, the Lord 

51 


326 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


is conjoined with him: on the contrary, that in proportion as 
any one does not acknowledge the Lord, the Lord is absent; 
and in proportion as any one denies him, he is separated from 
him. Conjunction causes the Lord to turn the face of a man 
to himself, and then to lead him; and disjunction causes hell 
to turn the face of a man to itself, and to lead him: all the 
angels of heaven, therefore, turn their faces to the Lord as the 
sun, and all the spirits of hell turn away their faces from the 
Lord. Hence is evident what is the effect produced by the ac- 
knowledgment of a God, and what by the denial of a God. 
Those also who deny God in the world, deny him after death, 
becoming organized according to the description above, n. 319; 
and the organization induced in the world remains to eternity. 
Sreconpiy, Zhat every one acknowledges God, and 2s conjoined 
with him, according to the good of lis life. All who know any 
thing of religion may know God. ‘They can also speak of God 
from science or the memory, and some even think of God from 
the understanding; but this, unless a man leads a good life, 
produces nothing but presence; for he can turn himself from 
God notwithstanding, and turn himself to hell, which is the 
case if he leads a bad life. None can acknowledge God in their 
hearts except those who lead a good life; and these, according 
to the good of their life, the Lord turns away from hell, and 
turns to himself. The reason is, because these alone love God; 
for they love divine things, which are from him, by doing 
them. The divine things, which are from God, are the precepts 
of his law; and these are God, because he is his own proceed- 
ing divine. As this is to love God, therefore the Lord says, 
“ He that keepeth my commandments, he it is that loveth me; 
and he that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings” (John xiv. 
21—24). This is the reason why there are two tables of the 
Decalogue,—one for God and the other for man. God continu- 
ally operates, that a man may receive the things which are in 
his table; but if he does not the things which are in his table, 
he does not receive with acknowledgment of heart the things 
which are in God’s table; and if he does not receive them, he 
is not conjoined. Therefore those two tables were joined toge- 
ther, that they might be one, and were called the tables of the 
covenant; and covenant signifies conjunction. The reason why 
every one acknowledges God, and is conjoined with him accord- 
ing to the good of his life, is, because good of life is similar to 
the good which is in the Lord, and which therefore is from the 
Lord; consequently, when a man is in the good of life, con- 
junction is effected. It is the contrary with evil of life; for this 
rejects the Lord. Turrpry, That the good of life, or to lwe 
well, is to shun evils because they are contrary to religion, there- 
Sore against God. ‘That this is the good of life, or to live well, 
is fully shown in Tae Docrrive or Lire For THE New JERv 
252 | 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 326 


SALEM, from beginning to end. To which I will only add, that 
if you do good in all abundance; if, for example, you build 
churches, adorn and fill them with donations, lay out money in 
hospitals and charities, give alms daily, help widows and or- 
phans, regularly perform the ceremonies of divine worship, if 
even you think, speak, and preach things holy as from the heart, 
and yet do not shun evils as sins against God, all those goods 
are not goods, but are either hypocritical or meritorious; for 
there is inwardly evil in them notwithstanding, since the life of 
every one is in all and every thing that he does. Goods are no 
otherwise made goods than by the removal of evil from them. 
Hence it is evident, that to shun evils because they are con- 
trary to religion, and therefore against God, is to live well. 
Fourruty, That these are the common essentials of all religions, 
by which every one may be saved. To acknowledge a God, and 
not to do evil because it is against God, are the two things by 
virtue of which religion is religion. If one of them is wanting, 
it cannot be called religion; for to acknowledge a God and to 
do evil is contradictory, as well as to do good and not to ac- 
knowledge a God: one does not take place without the other. 
It is provided by the Lord that there is some religion almost 
everywhere, and that in every religion there are these two 
essentials. It is provided by the Lord that every one who ac- 
knowledges a God, and abstains from evil because it is against 
God, has a place in heaven; for heaven in the complex resem- 
bles one man, whose life or soul is the Lord. In that celestial 
man there are all things which are in a natural man; with that 
difference which exists between things celestial and natural. It 
is well known that in a man there are not only organized forms, 
consisting of blood-vessels and nervous fibres, which are called 
viscera, but also skins, membranes, tendons, cartilages, bones, 
nails, and teeth, which have life in a less degree than the or- 
ganized forms themselves, to which they serve as ligaments, 
teguments, and supports. That celestial man, which is heaven, 
in order that there may be all these parts in him, cannot be 
composed of men all of one religion, but of men of different 
religions; and hence, all who apply to their lives those two 
universals of the church have a place in that celestial man, that 
is, in heaven, and there enjoy felicity, each in his degreé; but 
on this subject see more above, n. 254. That these two essen- 
tials are primary in every religion may appear from their being 
the two essentials which the Decalogue teaches; and the Deca- 
logue was primary in the Word, being promulgated from Mount 
Sinai by Jehovah wwa voce, and written upon two tables of 
stone by the finger of God; then, being deposited in the ark, 
it was called Jehovah, and constituted the holy of holies in the 
tabernacle and the most sacred place in the temple at Jerusalem ; 
and all things there derived their sanctity from it alone. Con- 
253 


326, 327 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


cerning the Decalogue in the ark, more may be seen from the 
Word in Tue Doctrine or Lire ror tas New Jervsaem, 
n. 53—615; to which I will add as follows: it is known from the 
Word that the ark, in which were the two tables whereupon 
the Decalogue was written, was taken by the Philistines, and 
placed in the temple of Dagon, in Ashdod; that Dagon fell 
down before it to the earth; that afterwards his head and the 
palms of his hands were separated from his body, and lay upon 
the threshold of the temple ; that the Ashdodites and Ekronites, 
by reason of the ark, were smitten with emerods to the number 
of several thousands, and that their country was wasted by 
mice; also, that the Philistines, by the advice of the chiefs of 
their nation, made five emerods, five golden mice, and a new 
cart, upon which they set the ark, with the emerods and golden 
mice beside it, and sent back the ark, by two kine, which lowed 
in the way before it, to the children of Israel, by whom the 
kine and the cart were sacrificed. See 4 Sam. chaps. v. and vi. 
Tt shall now be shown what all these particulars signified. The 
Philistines signified those who are in faith separate from charity ; 
Dagon represented their religion; the emerods, whereby they 
were smitten, signified natural loves, which when separated 
from spiritual love are unclean; the mice signified the devasta- 
tion of the church by falsifications of truth; the new cart upon 
which they sent back the ark, signified new, but natural, doc- 
trine, for chariot in the Word signifies doctrine grounded in 
spiritual truths; the kine signified good natural affections ; 
the golden emerods signified natural loves purified and made 
good; the golden mice signified the vastation of the church 
removed by good, for gold in the Word signifies good ; the low- 
ing of the kine in the way signified the difficult conversion of 
the concupiscences of evil in the natural man into good affec- 
tions; and the offering the kine with the cart, as a burnt- 
offering, signified that thus atonement would be made to the 
Lord. These are the things which are spiritually meant by 
those historical facts: connect them into one sense, and make 
the application. That by the Philistines are represented those 
who are in faith separate from charity may be seen in Tux 
Docrrine or tHe New JERUSALEM CONCERNING Farrn, n. 49—54; 
and that the ark, by reason of 'the Decalogue therein contained, 
was the most holy thing of the church, see the Docrrinz or 
Lire ror tur New Jervsarem, n. 58—61. 

827. Ill. That tt is a man’s own fault if he is not saved. 
This truth is acknowledged by every rational man as soon as it 
is heard, viz. that evil cannot flow from good, or good from evil, 
because they are opposites; consequently, that from good no- 
thing but good can flow, and from evil nothing but evil. When 
this truth. is acknowledged, the following is acknowledged also, 
viz. that good can be turned into evil, not by a good but by an 

254. 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 3827, 328 


evil recipient ; for every form turns what is influent into its own 
quality. See above, n. 292. Now as the Lord is good in its 
very essence, or good itself, it is evident that evil cannot flow 
from him, or be produced by him; but that it can be turned 
into evil by a recipient subject, whose form is a form of evil. 
Such a subject is every man with respect to his proprium, which 
continually receives good. from the Lord, and continually turns 
it into the quality of its form, which is a form of evil. Hence 
it follows that it is a man’s own fault if he is not saved. Evil 
is indeed from hell; yet as a man receives it thence as his own, 
and thereby appropriates it to himself, it makes no difference 
whether you say that evil is from man or from hell. But whence 
there is an appropriation of evil in such a degree that religion 
perishes, shall be shown in the following series. 1. That every 
religion, in process of time, decreases, and is consummated. 
‘2. That every religion decreases and is consummated by an in- 
version of the image of Godin man. 3. That this takes place 
from a continual accumulation of hereditary evil in successive 
generations. 4. That it is nevertheless provided by the Lord, 
that every one is capable of being saved. 5. That it is also 
provided that a new church should succeed in place of the former 
vastated church. 

328. These propositions are to be demonstrated in their 
series. Hirst, That every religion in process of time decreases 
and 1s consummated. Upon this earth there have been several 
churches, one after another; since, wherever the human race 
exists, there a church exists; for, as was demonstrated above, 
heaven, which is the end of creation, consists of the human 
race ; and no one can enter heaven unless he be in the two uni- 
versals of the church, which, as is shown above, n. 326, are the 
acknowledgment of a God, and the leading of a good life; 
hence it follows that there have been churches upon this earth 
from the most ancient times down to the present. These 
churches are described in the Word, but not historically, with 
the exception of the Israelitish and Jewish church, before which, 
nevertheless, there existed several that are only described in 
the Word under the names of nations and persons, and certain 
particulars concerning them. The most ancient church, which 
was the first, is described by Adam and his wife Eve. The 
succeeding church, which is to be called the ancient church, is 
described by Noah and his three sons, and their posterity. 
This was extensive and spread over many kingdoms of Asia, 
namely, the land of Canaan on both sides Jordan, Syria, Assyria 
and Chaldea, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Arabia, Tyre and Sidon; 
and among these was the ancient Word, mentioned in Tur 
Doctrine or THE New JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED 
Scripture, n. 101—103. That such church existed in those 
kingdoms is evident from various particulars recorded concerning 

255 


828 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


them in the prophetic parts of the Word. That church, how- 
ever, was remarkably changed by Eber, from whom the Hebrew 
church had its origin; in which latter sacrificial worship was 
first instituted. From the Hebrew church sprang the Israelitish 
and Jewish church, established with much solemnity for the sake 
of the Word which was therein to be written. These four 
churches are meant by the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a 
dream, whose head was of pure gold, the breast and arms of 
silver, the belly and thighs of brass, and the legs and feet of iron 
and clay (Dan. ii. 82, 33). The same is meant by the golden, 
silver, copper, and iron ages mentioned by ancient writers. 
That the Christian church sueceeded the Jewish church is well 
known ; and it may be seen from the Word that all these churches 
respectively declined in process of time, till there was an end of 
them, which is called the consummation. The consummation 
of the most ancient church, which was occasioned by eating of 
the tree of knowledge, whereby is signified the pride of self- 
derived intelligence, is described by the deluge. The consum- 
mation of the ancient church is described by various devastations 
of the nations treated of in the historical as well as in the pro- 
phetical parts of the Word, especially by the casting out of the 
nations from the land of Canaan by the children of Israel. 
The consummation of the Israelitish and Jewish church is un- 
derstood by the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem; by the 
carrying away of the Israelitish people into perpetual captivity, 
and of the Jewish nation to Babylon; and, lastly, by the second 
destruction of the temple, also of Jerusalem at the same time, 
and the dispersion of that nation; which consummation is fore- 
told in many places in the prophets, and in Daniel ix. 24—97. 
The successive vastation of the Christian church, to its final 
period, is described by the Lord, in Matthew xxiv., Mark xiii., 
and Luke xxi.; and the consummation itself in the Apocalypse. 
Hence it may appear that in process of time the church de- 
creases and is consummated; and that it is the same with reli- 
gion. Srconpiy, That every religion decreases and 7s consum- 
mated by an inversion of the image of God in man. It is well 
known that man was created in the image of God according to 
the likeness of God (Genesis i. 26): it shall now be explained 
what an image of God is, and what a likeness of God. God 
alone is love and wisdom; and man was created that he might 
be a receptacle of both,—that his will might be a receptacle of 
divine love, and his understanding a receptacle of divine wisdom. 
That these two principles are in man from creation, that they 
constitute the man, and that they are also formed in every one 
in the womb, was shown above. Man, then, is an image of 
God by his being a recipient of divine wisdom, and a likeness 
of God by his being a recipient of divine love; therefore the 
receptacle which is called the understanding is an image of God, 
256 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 328 


and the receptacle which is called the will is a likeness of God ; 
and since man was created and formed to be a receptacle, it 
follows that he was created and formed that his will might 
receive love from God, and his understanding wisdom from 
God. These a man receives, when he acknowledges God, and 
lives according to his commandments; but in a greater or less 
degree in proportion as by religion he knows God and his com- 
mandments, consequently, in proportion as he knows truths; 
for truths teach what God is and how he is to be acknowledged, 
also what his commandments are, and how a man is to live 
according to them. The image and likeness of God, although 
seemingly, are not actually destroyed in man; for they remain 
inherent in his two faculties called liberty and rationality, which 
have been abundantly treated of above. They became seem- 
ingly destroyed, when he made the receptacle of the divine love, 
which is his will, a receptacle of self-love, and the receptacle of 
the divine wisdom, which is his understanding, a receptacle of 
self-derived intelligence. He thereby inverted the image and 
likeness of God; for he turned those receptacles away from God, 
and turned them to himself. Hence it is, that they are closed 
above and opened below, or closed before and opened behind, 
when nevertheless by creation they were open before and closed 
behind ; and when they are thus inversely opened and closed, 
the receptacle of love, or the will, receives influx from hell or 
from its proprium, and so also does the receptacle of wisdom, 
or the understanding. Hence arose in the churches the worship 
of men instead of the worship of God, and worship grounded in 
doctrines of falsity instead of that grounded in doctrines of 
truth,—the latter from self-derived intelligence, the former from 
selflove. Irom these considerations it is evident, that religion 
in process of time decreases and is consummated by an inversion 
of the image of God in man. Tutrpiy, That this takes place 
from a continual accumulation of hereditary evil unr successive 
generations. It was stated and shown above, that hereditary 
evil is not from Adam and his wife Eve in consequence of their 
eating of the tree of knowledge, but that it is successively derived 
from parents and transplanted into their offspring, thus by con- 
tinual additions is augmented from generation to generation. 
When evil is thereby accumulated among many, it spreads and. 
extends itself to others; for in all evil there is a lust of seducing, 
which in some is ardent in consequence of their rage against 
what is good; and thence proceeds the contagion of evil. When 
this has invaded the dignitaries, rulers, and leading men in the 
church, religion is perverted, and the means of cure, which are 
truths, are corrupted by falsifications; hence in such case pro 
ceed the successive vastation of good and desolation of truth in 
the church, until the consummation is complete. Jourruty, 
That nevertheless it is provided by the Lord, that every one 28 
257 , 


828, 329 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


capable of being saved. It is provided by the Lord that there 
should be a religion everywhere, and that in every religion 
there should be the two essentials of salvation, which consist in 
acknowledging a God, and in not doing evil because it is against 
God. Other things appertaining to the understanding and 
thence to the thought, which are called matters of faith, are 
provided for every one according to his life, for they are acces- 
sories to life; and if they precede, still they do not receive life 
before. It is also provided that all who have lived well and ac- 
knowledged a God should be instructed after death by the angels; 
and then those who have been in these two essentials of religion 
in this world accept the truths of the church, such as they are 
in the Word, and acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven 
and the church; which doctrine they receive more readily than 
Christians who have carried out of the world with them an idea 
of the Lord’s humanity separate from his divinity. It is more- 
over provided by the Lord, that all who die in their infancy, 
wherever they may be born, should be saved. There is also 
given to every man after death an opportunity of amending his 
life, if possible. All are instructed and led of the Lord by 
angels; and as they then know that they are living after death, 
and that there are such places as heaven and hell, they at first 
receive truths; but those who have not acknowledged a God, 
and shunned evils as sins in this world, are in a short time after 
disgusted with truths, and recede: those who have acknowledged 
them with their mouths, and not in their hearts, being like the 
foolish virgins, who had lamps, but no oil, and sought oil of 
others, and also went and bought it, yet were not admitted to 
the marriage. Lamps signify the truths of faith, and oil signifies 
the good of charity. Hence it may appear, that by the Divine 
Providence every one is capable of being saved, and that it is a 
man’s own fault if he is not saved. Furruny, That tt ¢s also 
provided that a New Church should succeed in place of the 
Jormer vastated church. This has been the case from the most 
ancient times, namely, that when a former church was vastated, a 
new one succeeded. After the most ancient church the ancient 
church succeeded; after the ancient, the Israelitish or J ewish ; 
after that, the Christian church ; and that after this last, a New 
Church will succeed is foretold,in the Apocalypse, in which such 
church is signified by the New Jerusalem descending from 
heaven. The reason why a New Church is provided by the 
Lord to succeed the former vastated church, may be seen in 
Tue Doctrine or tHe New JERvsALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED 
ScrieTuRE, n. 104—113. 

329. IV. That thus all are predestined to heaven, and none 
to hell. That the Lord casts none into hell, but that the spirit 
casts himself thither, is shown in the work concerning Heaven 
and Hutt, published in London in the year 1758, n. 545—550. 

258 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 329 


‘This is the case with every wicked and impious person after 
death, and it is the same with the wicked and impious in this 
world; with this difference, that in this world they may be 
reformed and embrace and imbibe the means of salvation, but 
not so after their departure out of the world. The means of 
salvation relate to these two things,—the shunning of evils 
because they are contrary to the divine laws in the Decalogue, 
and the acknowledgment that there is a God. This every one 
may do, provided he does not love evils; for the Lord flows 
-continually with power into the will that he may be able to 
shun evils, and with power into the understanding that he may 
be able to think that there is a God; yet no person can do the 
one without at the same time doing the other: these two things 
are joined together like the two tables of the Decalogue: of 
which one is for the Lord, and the other for man. The Lord 
from his table illuminates every one, and gives power; but in 
prowenaon as a man does the things which are in his own table, 
e receives power and illumination: before this the two appear 
as if they were laid upon one another and sealed up; but as a 
man does the things which are in his table, they are disclosed 
and opened. What is the Decalogue at this day but as a book 
that is shut, or open only in the hands of infants and children ? 
Tell any one who is of an advanced age, You must not do such 
a thing, because it is contrary to the Decalogue,—and who 
attends to you? but if yousay, Do not such a thing, because it is 
contrary to the divine laws, this he can attend to; and yet the 
precepts of the Decalogue are the very essential divine laws. 
An experiment was made with several in the spiritual world, 
who, when the Decalogue or catechism was repeated, rejected 
it with contempt; the reason of which is, that the Decalogue 
in its second table, which is man’s table, teaches that evils are 
to be shunned; and he that does not shun them, whether from 
impiety or from a religious notion that works are of no avail, 
but faith only, when the Decalogue or catechism is repeated, 
hears it with some contempt, as though he heard mention made 
of some child’s book, which is no longer of any use to him. 
These particulars are stated in order that it may be known, 
that there is not wanting to any man a knowledge of the means 
by which he may be saved, or the power of being saved if he. 
will; from which it follows, that all are predestined for heaven, 
and none for hell. As however there prevails among some a 
belief in predestination to no salvation, which is damnation, 
and as such a belief is hurtful, and cannot be dispelled unless 
reason also sees the madness and cruelty of it, therefore it shall 
be treated of in the following series. 1. That any other pre- 
destination than predestination to heaven, is contrafy to the 
divine love and its infinity. 92. That any other predestination 
than predestination to heaven is contrary to the divine wisdom 
259 R 


329, 330 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


and its infinity. 38. That it is an insane heresy to suppose that 
those only are saved who are born within the church. 4. That 
it is a cruel heresy to suppose that any of the human race are 
predestined to be damned. 

330. That it may appear how hurtful is a faith in predes- 
tination, as commonly understood, these four propositions shall 
be resumed and confirmed. Furst, Zhat any other predestination 
than predestination to heaven, is contrary to the divine love, which 
as njinite. That Jehovah, or the Lord, is divine love, and that 
the divine love is infinite, and the esse of all life; also, that man 
was created in the image of God according to the likeness ot 
God, is demonstrated in the treatise concerning Tar Divine 
Love anp tHe Diving Wispom. Since also every man is formed 
in the womb in that image according to that likeness by the 
Lord, as is also demonstrated, it follows, that the Lord is the 
heavenly Father ofall men, and that men are his spiritual children. 
So is Jehovah or the Lord called in the Word, and so are men 
called therein; therefore he says, “ Call no man your Father 
upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven” 
(Matt. xxiii. 9); by which is meant that He alone is the Father 
as to life, and that an earthly father is only such as to the 
covering of life, which is the body. In heaven, therefore, no 
other Father is made mention of than the Lord. That men, who 
do not invert that life, are called his sons, and said to be born 
of him, is also evident from many passages in the Word. Hence 
it may appear, that the Divine Love is in every man, the wicked 
as well as the good; consequently, that the Lord who is divine 
love, cannot act any otherwise with them than as a fatherapon 
earth does with his children, only with infinitely more tender- 
ness, because the divine love is infinite; also, that he cannot 
recede from any one, because the life of every one is from him. 
It appears as if he receded from the wicked, whereas it is the 
wicked themselves who recede; but still out of love he leads 
them: therefore the Lord says, “ Ask, and it shall be given 
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you. What man is there of you, who if his son ask bread, 
will give him a stone? If ye then, being evil, know how to 
give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your 
Father who is in the heavens give good things to them that ask 
him?” (Matt. vii. 7—11); and in another place, that “he 
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth 
rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. v. 45). Moreover, 
it is well known in the church that the Lord desires the salvation 
of all, and not the death of any. Hence it may be seen that 
any other predestination than predestination to heaven is contrary 
to the divine love. Sxconpiy, That any other predestination 
than predestination to heaven, is contrary to the eine wisdom, 
parry es infinite. The divine love through its divine wisdom 

260 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 330 


provides means by which every man may be saved; therefore 
to say that there is any other predestination than predestination 
to heaven, is to say that it cannot provide means by which salva- 
tion may be effected, when, nevertheless, as was shown above, 
all are possessed of the means, and these are from the Divine 
Providence, which is infinite. The reason why there are some 
who are not saved, is, because the divine love desires that a 
man should feel in himself the felicity and bliss of heaven, for 
otherwise it would be no heaven to him; and this cannot be 
effected unless it appear to him that he thinks and wills from 
himself; for without that appearance nothing could be appro- 
priated to him, nor would he be aman. For this reason there 
is a Divine Providence, which is of the divine wisdom from the 
divine love. By this, however, is not taken away the truth 
that all are predestined for heaven, and none for hell; yet it 
would be taken away if the means of salvation were wanting. 
But it was shown above, that the means of salvation are pro- 
vided for every one, and that heaven is of such a nature that 
all who live well, of whatever religion they be, may have a 
place there. A man is like the earth, which produces all kinds 
of fruits, and by virtue of which faculty earth is earth; but its 
producing evil fruit does not take away its power of producing 
good fruit also, which would be taken away, however, if it could 
only produce evil fruit. A man may also be compared to an 
object which variegates the rays of light in itself: if this pre- 
sents to the eye disagreeable colors only, it is not the fault of 
the light ; for its rays may also be variegated to produce pleasing 
colors. Tumpry, Zhat to suppose that those only are saved who 
are born within the church ts an insane heresy. ‘Those who are 
born without the church are men as well as those who are within 
it; they are of the same heavenly origin, and are equally living 
and immortal souls; they have a religion by which they acknow- 
ledge that there is a God, and that they ought to live well; 
and, as was shown above, he that acknowledges a God and lives 
well, becomes spiritual in his degree, and is saved. It is 
alleged that they are not baptized; but baptism does not save 
any except those who are spiritually washed, that is, regene- 
rated; for baptism is a sign and memorial thereof. Itis alleged 
also that the Lord is not known to them, and that without the. 
Lord there is no salvation; yet no one has salvation merely by 
the Lord’s being known to him, but by living according to his 
precepts; and the Lord is known to every one who acknow- 
ledges a God, for he is the God of heaven and earth, as_he 
himself teaches in Matt. xxviii. 18; and other places. Besides, 
those who are without the church have an idea of God as a man 
more than the Christians; and those who have this idea, and 
live well, are accepted by the Lord, for they acknowledge God 
to be one in person and in essence, which Christians do not. 
261 . 


3800, 831 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


They also think of God in their life; for they consider evils as 
sins against God, and those who do this think of God in their 
life. Christians have the precepts of their religion from the 
Word ; but there are few who draw any precepts of life from it. 
The Papists do not read it; and those of the Reformed Church 
who are in faith separate from charity do not attend to those 
things in it which relate to life, but only to those which relate 
to faith, and yet the whole Word is nothing else but the doc- 
trine of life. Christianity prevails only in Europe; the religion 
of the Mahometans and Gentiles in Asia, the Indies, Africa, 
and America; and the human race in the last-mentioned parts 
of the world is ten times more numerous than in the Christian 
countries, yet in the latter there are but few who place religion 
in a good life: what then can be greater madness than to think 
that the latter only are saved, and the former condemned, or 
that a man possesses heaven by his birth, and not by his life? 
Therefore the Lord says, “I say unto you, that many shall 
come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the 
children of the kingdom shall be cast out” (Matt. viii. 11, 12). 
Fourtaty, That to suppose any of the human race are predes- 
tined to be damned is a cruel heresy. For it is cruel to think 
that the Lord, who is love itself and mercy itself, would suffer 
so vast a multitude of men to be born for hell, or that so many 
myriads of myriads should be born condemned and devoted, 
that is, born devils and satans; and that he would not out of 
his divine wisdom provide that those who live well and acknow- 
ledge a God should not be cast into everlasting fire and torment. 
The Lord is the Creator and Saviour of all; He alone leads all, 
and wills not the death of any one: therefore it is cruel to 
think and believe that so great a multitude of nations and people 
under his auspices and inspection should be predestined to be 
delivered as a prey to the devil. 


THAT THE LORD CANNOT ACT AGAINST THE LAWS OF THE 
DIVINE PROVIDENCE, BECAUSE TO ACT AGAINST THEM 
WOULD BE TO ACT AGAINST HIS DIVINE LOVE AND HIS 
DIVINE WISDOM, CONSEQUENTLY AGAINST HIMSELF. 


831. Iv Tae Angeric Wispom concerning THe Drvine 
Love anp tae Diviye Wispom, it is shown that the Lord is 
divine love and divine wisdom, and that these two principles 
are the very esse and life from which every thing is and lives, 
It is shown, also, that the same proceed from him, and that 
this proceeding divine is Himself. Among the things which 
proceed from him the Divine Providence is primary ; for this is 

262 | 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. dd1, .332 


continually in the end for which the universe was created. The 
operation and progression of the end by its means is what is 
called the Divine Providence. Now as the proceeding divine is 
himself, and the Divine Providence is the primary thing that 
proceeds, it follows, that to act against the laws of his Divine 
Providence is to act against himself. It may also be said that 
the Lord is Providence, as it is said that God is order; for the 
Divine Providence is the divine order primarily respecting the 
salvation of men; and as there is no order without laws, for 
laws constitute it, and every law derives this from order that 
it also is order, it follows, that as God is order, he is also the 
law of his own order. The same may be said of the Divine 
Providence, that as the Lord is his own providence, he is also 
the law of his own providence. Hence it is evident that the 
Lord cannot act against the laws of his Divine Providence, be- 
cause to act against them would be to act against himself. Now 
there can be no operation but upon a subject, and by means 
operating upon that subject; operation, except upon a subject, 
and upon that by certain means, is impossible; and the subject 
of the Divine Providence is man; the means are divine truths 
whereby he has wisdom, and divine goods whereby he has love; 
and the Divine Providence by these means operates its end, 
which is man’s salvation; for he that wills an end, also wills 
means. Therefore when he effects the end, he effects it by 
means. These particulars, however, will be made more evident 
when they are reviewed in the following order. I. That the ope- 
ration of the Divine Providence in saving a man begins at his 
birth, continues to the end of his life, and afterwards to eter- 
nity. JI. That the operation of the Divine Providence is 
continually effected by means out of pure mercy. III. That 
momentaneous salvation from immediate mercy is impossible. 
IV. That momentaneous salvation from immediate mercy is the 
fiery flying serpent in the church. 

332. 1. Lhat the operation of the Divine Providence in sav- 
ing aman begins at his birth, continues to the end of his life, and 
afterwards to eternity. It was shown above that a heaven out 
of the human race is the very end of the creation of the uni- 
verse ; that this end in its operation and progression is the 
Divine Providence for the salvation of men; and that all things 
which are without man and serve for his use are secondary ends 
of creation, which in the aggregate have relation to all things 
that exist in the three kingdoms—the animal, vegetable, and 
mineral. When these things constantly proceed according to 
the laws of divine order established at their first creation, how 
can the primary end, which is the salvation of the human race, 
proceed otherwise than constantly according to the laws of its 
order, which are the laws of the Divine Providence? Only ob- 
serve a fruit tree ; does it not first spring from a small seed as a 

263 


382, 338 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


tender germ, afterwards grow successively into a stalk, spread 
forth its branches, which are then covered with leaves, and af- 
terwards put forth flowers and bear fruit, wherein it deposits 
new seeds, by which it provides for its perpetuity? It is the 
same with every shrub and herb of the field. Do not all and 
singular things therein constantly and wonderfully proceed _ac- 
cording to the laws of their order from end to end? Why then 
should not the primary end, which is a heaven out of the human 
race, do the same? Can any thing possibly take place in its 
progression which does not most constantly proceed according 
to the laws of the Divine Providence? As there is a corre- 
spondence between the life of a man and the vegetation of a 
tree, draw a parallel or comparison. .A man’s infancy may be 
compared to the tender germ of a tree springing out of the 
earth from the seed; his childhood and youth, to that germ in- 
creasing to a stem and branches ; natural truths, which every 
man first imbibes, to the leaves with which its branches are 
covered, leaves having no other signification in the Word; a 
man’s initiation into the marriage of goodand truth, or the 
spiritual marriage, to the flowers which that tree produces in 
the spring-time, spiritual truths being the small leaves of those 
flowers ; the first-fruits of the spiritual marriage, to the begin- 
nings of the fruit; spiritual goods, which are the goods of 
charity, to the fruit, being also signified by fruit in the Word, 
the procreations of wisdom from love, to the seeds, by means of 
which procreations a man becomes like a garden and a paradise. 
A man is also described in the Word by a tree, and his wisdom 
from love by agarden. Nothing else is signified by the garden 
of Eden. A man indeed is an evil tree from the seed; but yet 
there is provided an ingrafting or inoculation of branches taken 
from the tree of life, by which the juices drawn from the old 
root are converted into such as produce good fruit. This com- 
parison is made, in order that it may be known that when there 
is so constant a progression of the Divine Providence in the 
vegetation and regeneration of trees, it must by all means be 
constant in the reformation and regeneration of men, who are 
of much more value than trees, according to these words of the 
Lord: ‘‘ Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not 
one otf them is forgotten before God? but even the very hairs 
of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of 
more value than many sparrows. And which of you with tak- 
ing thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be 
not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought 
for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow. If God so 
clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is 
cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of 
little faith ?” (Luke xii. 6, 7, 25—28.) 

333. It was said above that the operation of the Divine Pro. 

264 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 533, 334 


vidence in saving a man begins at his birth, and continues to 
the end of his life. That this may be understood, it is to be 
observed, that the Lord sees what a man is, and foresees what 
he desires to be, consequently what he will be; and in order 
that he may be a man, and thereby immortal, the freedom of 
his will cannot be taken away, as has been abundantly shown 
above; therefore the Lord foresees his state after death, and 
provides for it from his birth to the end of his life; with the 
wicked he provides by permitting and continually withdrawing 
them from evils ; with the good he provides by leading them to 
good. Thus the Divine Providence is continually in the opera- 
tion of saving men; but more cannot be saved than desire to be 
saved. Those who acknowledge God, and are led by him, de- 
sire to be saved; and those who do not acknowledge God, but 
guide themselves, do not desire to be saved: for the latter do 
not think of eternal life and salvation, but the former do. This 
the Lord sees, but still he leads them, and leads them according 
to the laws of his Divine Providence, against which he cannot 
act, because to act against them would be to act against his 
divine love and divine wisdom, that is, to act against himself. 
Now as he foresees the state of all after death, and also foresees 
the places of those who are not willing to be saved, in hell, and 
the places of those who are willing to be saved, in heaven, it 
follows, as before said, that he provides for the wicked their 
places by permitting and withdrawing, and for the good their 
places by leading them ; and unless this were done continually 
from the birth of every one to his life’s end, neither heaven nor 
hell could subsist; for without such foresight and at the same 
time providence, both heaven and hell would be nothing but 
confusion. That every one has his place provided for him by 
means of the Lord’s foreknowledge, may be seen above, n. 202, 
203. This may be illustrated by the following comparison : 
Supposing an archer or marksman were to shoot at a mark, and 
a right line were drawn from the mark to the distance of a mile 
beyond it,—if in shooting, the arrow or ball were to miss the 
mark a nail’s breadth only, it would, at the end of the mile, 
diverge immensely from the line drawn beyond the mark. Such 
would be the case if the Lord did not every moment, even the 
most minute point of time, have respect to eternity in foreseeing 
and providing every one his place after death: this, however, is 
done by the Lord, because all the future is present to him, and 
all the present is to him eternal. That the Divine Providence, 
in all it does, has respect to infinity and eternity, may be seen 
above, n. 46—69, 214, and the subsequent numbers. 

334. It was said that the operation of the Divine Providence 
continues to eternity, because every angel is perfected in wis- 
dom to eternity; but every one according to the degree of af- 
fection for goodness and truth he was in when he departed out 

265 


o04, 835 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


of the world. It is this degree which is perfected to eternity. 
What is beyond this degree is without the angel, and not within 
him ; and that which is without him cannot be perfected within 
him. This is meant by the good measure, pressed down, shaken, 
and running over, which shall be given into the bosom of those 
who give and forgive others (Luke vii., 37, 38), that is, who are 
in the good of charity. 

835. Il. That the operation of the Divine Providence is con- 
tinually effected by means which are out of pure mercy. There 
are means and modes of the Divine Providence: means are all 
those things by virtue of which a man is made a man, and per- 
fected with respect to his understanding and his will; modes 
are those things by which such means are effected. The means 
by virtue of which a man is made a man, and perfected with 
respect to his understanding, are included under the general 
appellation of truths, which become ideas in the thought, are 
called things in the memory, and are in themselves knowledges 
from which sciences are derived. All these means considered 
in themselves are spiritual; but as they exist in things natural, 
they appear from their clothing or covering as natural things, 
and some as material. They are infinite in number and variety, 
and are more or less simple and compound, and more or less 
perfect or imperfect. There are means for forming and per- 
fecting civil natural life; also for forming and perfecting moral 
‘ational life; and for forming and perfecting spiritual celestial 
lite. These means succeed, one kind after another, from in- 
fancy to a man’s latest age, and after that to eternity ; and as 
they succeed, by increasing, those which were prior become 
means of those which are posterior, since they enter into every 
thing that has a form as mediate causes; for from these every 
effect or conclusion is efficient, and thence becomes a cause. 
Thus posteriors successively become means; and as this goes on 
to eternity, there is no postreme or ultimate that closes the 
whole; for as eternity is without end, so wisdom, which in- 
creases to eternity, is also without end. If there were any end 
to wisdom in a wise man, the delight of his wisdom, which con- 
sists in its perpetual multiplication and fructification, would 
perish ; so would also the delight of his life; and in place of it 
would succeed the delight of glory, in which alone there is no 
celestial life. In such case a man no longer becomes wise like 
a young man, but like an old man, and at length like a decrepit 
man. Although the wisdom of a wise man in heaven increases 
to eternity, yet there is no such approximation of angelic wisdom 
to the divine wisdom as to reach it. It may be illustrated by 
what is said of a right line drawn about an hyperbola, continu- 
ally approaching, but never touching it; and by what is said of 
squaring the circle. ence may appear what is meant by 
means by which the Divine Providence operates, that a man 

266 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 3385—338 


may be a man, and be perfected in regard to his understanding, 
and that these means are included under the general appellation 
of truths. There is also a similar number of means, by which 
aman is formed and perfected in regard to his will; but these 
are comprehended under the general appellation of goods. 
From the latter a man derives love, and from the former wis- 
dom. The conjunction of them makes the man; for such as is 
the conjunction such is the man. It is this conjunction which 
is called the marriage of goodness and truth. 

336. The modes also by which the Divine Providence ope- 
rates upon means and by means, in forming a man and perfect- 
ing him, are also infinite in number and variety. They are as 
numerous as the operations of the divine wisdom from the divine 
love for the salvation of man, consequently as numerous as the 
operations of the Divine Providence according to its laws above 
described. That these modes are of a very hidden nature was 
illustrated above by the operations of the soul upon the body, 
concerning which men know 60 little that it can scarcely be 
called any thing; as, how the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, 
and the skin feel, how the stomach digests, the mesentery pre- 
pares the chyle, the liver elaborates the blood, the pancreas and 
spleen purify it, the kidneys separate impure humours from it, 
the heart collects and distributes it, the lungs decant it, and how 
the brain sublimates the blood and vivifies it anew, besides in- 
numerable other things, all of which are arcana into which scarce 
any science can enter. It is therefore evident, that still less can 
the secret operations of the Divine Providence be entered into ; 
it is sufficient that its laws are known. 

337. The reason why the Divine Providence effects all things 
out of pure mercy, is, because the divine essence itself is pure 
love: it is that which operates by the divine wisdom; and that 
operation is what is called the Divine Providence. The reason 
why that pure love is pure mercy, is, 1. That it operates with 
all who are in the world, who are such that they can do nothing 
from themselves. 2. That it operates with the evil and unjust, 
as well as with the good and just. 8. That it leads the former 
in hell, and snatches them out of it. 4. That it continually 
strives with them there, and fights for them against the devil, 
that is, against the evils of hell. 5. That for this purpose it 
came into the world, and underwent temptations even to the last 
of them, which was the passion of the cross. 6. That it acts 
continually with the unclean that it may cleanse them, and with 
the insane that it may heal them; consequently, it labours con- 
tinually out of pure mercy. 

838. Ul. Lhat momentaneous salvation from immediate 
mercy is impossible. In the foregoing pages it is shown that the 
operation of the Divine Providence for the salvation of man 
begins at his birth, continues to the end of his life, and after- 

267 


338 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


wards to eternity; also, that this operation is continually carried 
on by means out of pure mercy: hence it follows, that there is 
no such thing as momentaneous salvation or immediate mercy. 
But as many, who do not think at all from the understanding 
concerning matters of the church or of religion, believe that they 
are saved from immediate mercy, consequently that salvation 
is momentaneous, and yet this is contrary to the truth, and is 
besides a hurtful belief, it is requisite that it should be considered 
in its proper order. 1. That a belief in momentaneous salvation 
from immediate mercy is taken from the natural state of man. 
2. That such a belief proceeds from ignorance of his spiritual 
state, which is totally different from his natural state. 3. That 
the doctrines of all the churches in the Christian world con- 
sidered interiorly are against momentaneous salvation from 
immediate mercy; but yet that it is established by men of the 
external church. First, That a belief in momentaneous salva- 
tion from immediate mercy is taken from the natural state of 
man. The natural man from his own state knows no otherwise 
than that heavenly joy is like worldly joy, and enters by influx 
and is received in the same manner; for example, that it is like 
a man who had been poor becoming rich, and so being removed 
from a sorrowful state of poverty to a happy state of opulence ; 
or like a man who had before been of no estimation, being 
honoured, and so being removed from a state of contempt to a 
state of glory; or like going out of the house of mourning to 
nuptial joys. Since these states can be changed within a day, 
and no other idea is entertained of the state of man after death, 
it is evident whence it arises that there is a belief in momenta- 
neous salvation from immediate mercy. In the world, also, 
it is possible for many persons to be in one company, in one 
civil society, and to be merry together, yet all of them to differ 
in their minds. This is the case in a natural state; and the 
reason is, that the external of one man may be accommodated 
to the external of another, although their internals be dissimilar. 
From this natural state it is concluded, that salvation consists 
only in admission to the angels in heaven, and the admission 
is from immediate mercy; therefore it is also believed that 
heaven can be given to the wicked as well as the good, and that 
then there is a consociation similar to what takes place in the 
world, with this difference only, that it is full of joy. Srconpiy, 
But that this faith proceeds from ignorance of a spiritual state, 
which is totally different from a natural state. The spiritual 
state, which is the state of man after death, is treated of in 
many places above, where it is shown that every one is his own 
love, that no one can live with any others but such as are in a 
similar love, and that if he comes to others, he cannot respire 
his own life. Hence it is that every one after death enters into 
a society similar to himself, composed of such as are in a similar 
268 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 338 


love ; that he acknowledges them as his relatives and friends ; 
and, what is wonderful, that when he meets with them and 
sees them, it is as though he had known them from his infancy. 
This circumstance has its ground in the nature of spiritual 
affinity and friendship. Yea more, no one in a society can dwell 
in any other house than his own; every one having his own 
house, which he finds prepared for him as soon as he comes into 
the society. He may be in company with others out of his house, 
but yet he cannot dwell anywhere but in it; and what is still 
more, no one ¢an sit in an apartment in another’s house in any 
place but his own: if he sits in any other place, he becomes 
impotent of mind and silent; and, what is wonderful, every one 
when he enters a room knows his own place. It is the same 
in temples, and also in assemblies when they are met together. 
From these circumstances it is evident that a spiritual state is 
totally different from a natural state, and such indeed that no 
one can be anywhere but where his reigning love is; for there 
is the delight of his life, and every one desires to be in the 
delight of his life. A man’s spirit cannot be anywhere else, 
because that constitutes his life, even his very respiration, as 
also the pulsation of his heart. It is otherwise in the natural 
world, where the external man is taught from his infancy to 
feign, in his countenance, speech, and gesture, delights different 
from those of his internal. Therefore, from the state of a man 
in the natural world, a conclusion cannot be formed concerning 
his state after death ; for the state of every one after death is 
spiritual, and is such that he cannot be anywhere but in the 
delight of his love, which he acquired to himself by his life in 
the natural world. Hence it may plainly appear, that no one 
who is in the delight of hell can be let into the delight of heaven, 
which in general is called heavenly joy 3 or, what amounts to 
the same, he that is already in the delight of evil cannot be let 
into the delight of good. It may be still more clearly concluded 
from this ciréumstance that the liberty of ascending into heaven is 
_ not refused any one after death: the way is shown him, leave is 
given, and he is introduced; but when he comes into heaven, and 
by breathing draws in its delight, if he be in evil, he begins to feel 
anguish in his breast, to be tormented at heart, to experience 
a swoon, in which he writhes himself like a snake placed before 
the fire, and with his face averted from heaven and turned toward 
hell, escapes headlong; and he cannot rest except in a society of 
his own prevailing love. Hence it may appear that to go to 
heaven is not allowed to any one from immediate mercy, conse- 
quently, that it does not consist of admission merely, as many in 
this world imagine; and that salvation is not momentaneous, 
for this supposes immediate mercy. There were some, who in the 
world believed in momentaneous salvation from immediate mer- 
cy, and when they became spirits were desirous that their infer- 
269 


338 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


nal delight or the delight of evil might, by means of the divine 
omnipotence and the divine mercy together, be changed into 


heavenly delight, or the delight of good; and as this was their _ 


desire, it was permitted that it should be done by angels, who 
instantly removed their infernal delight: but then, because it 
was the delight of their life’s love, consequently their life itself, 
they lay as if they were dead, deprived of all sense and motion ; 


and it was impossible to infuse into them any other life than 
their own, because all things of their minds and bodies were in. 


a state of retroversion, and could not be contrariwise retorted 
or wrested. They were therefore revived by the intromission of 
the delight of their life’s love; and they afterwards said, that 
in that state they felt interiorly something direful and horrible, 
which they would not make known. Hence it is said in heaven, 
that it is easier to convert an owl into a dove, or a serpent into 
a lamb, than an infernal spirit into an angel of heaven. 
Tutrpiy, Zhat the doctrines of the churches wm the Christian 
world interiorly considered are against momentaneous salvation 
From immediate mercy, but yet that ut is established by men of the 
external church. The doctrines of all churches, viewed inte- 
riorly, teach life. Where is there any church whose doctrine 
does not teach that a man ought to examine himself; to see 
and acknowledge his sins; to confess them, repent, and then 
lead a new life? Who is admitted to the holy communion 
without this admonition and command? Inquire, and you will 
be confirmed. What church is there whose doctrine is not 
founded upon the precepts of the Decalogue? and the precepts 
of the Decalogue are precepts of life. What man is there of 
the church, in whom there is any thing of the church, that 
does not acknowledge, as soon as he hears it, that he that lives 
well is saved, and that he that lives wickedly is condemned ? 
Therefore in the Athanasian Creed, which is also the doctrine 
received in the whole Christian world, it is said, that the. Lord 
will “come to judge the quick and the dead; amd those that 
have done good shall go into life everlasting, and those that 
have done evil into everlasting fire.” Irom which it is evident 
that the doctrines of all churches, viewed interiorly, teach life. 
As they teach life, they teach that salvation is according to life; 
and a man’s life is not inspired in a moment, but: formed suc- 
cessively, and reformed as a man shuns evils as sins, conse- 
quently, as he knows what sin is and sees and acknowledges it, 
as he does not will it and therefore desists from it, and as he 
also knows the means which relate to the knowledge of God. 
By these, which cannot be infused in a moment, a man’s life is 
formed and reformed; for hereditary evil, which in itself is 
infernal, is to be removed, and in place of it, good, which in 
itself is celestial, is to be implanted. A man, from his here- 
ditary evil, may be compared to an owl as to understanding, 
270 


| “ 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 338—340 


and a serpent as to will; and a reformed man may be compared 
to a dove as to understanding, and a lamb as to will; therefore 
momentaneous reformation and thence salvation may be com- 
pared to the momentaneous conversion of an owl into a dove 
and a serpent into a lamb. Who that knows any thing of the 
life of man does not see that this cannot be effected, except 
the nature of the owl and serpent be taken away, and the 
nature of the dove and lamb be implanted? Besides, it is well 
known that every intelligent man may become more intelligent, 
and every wise man more wise; that intelligence and wisdom 
in a man may increase, and in some do increase, from infancy 
to their life’s end; and that thus the man is continually per- 
fected. Why should not this be more eminently the case with 
spiritual intelligence and wisdom, which ascends by two degrees 
above natural intelligence and wisdom? When it ascends, it 
becomes angelic, which is unutterable: that this in the angels 
increases to eternity was stated above. Who may not compre- 
hend, if he will, that what is perfected to eternity cannot pos- 
sibly be perfect in an instant ? 

339. Hence then it is evident, that all who think from life 
concerning salvation, do not think of any momentaneous salva- 
tion from immediate mercy, but of the means of salvation, on 
and by which the Lord operates according to the laws of his 
Divine Providence, and by which therefore every man is led out 
of pure mercy by the Lord. But those who do not think from 
life concerning salvation, imagine there is something momenta- 
neous in salvation, and something immediate in mercy ; as also 
do those who separate faith from charity. Charity is life, and 
they suppose there is something momentaneous in faith at the 
hour of death, if not before. Those also do the same who be- 
lieve remission of sins without repentance to be absolution from 
sins, consequently salvation, and who with this idea receive the 
Lord’s Supper; likewise those who have faith in the indulgences 
of monks, in their prayers for the dead, and in their dispensa- 
tions grounded in the power they claim over the souls of men. 

340. IV. Zhat momentancous salvation from immediate 
mercy vs the fiery flying serpent in the church. By afiery flying 
serpent is meant evil shining from infernal fire: the same as is 
meant by the fiery flying serpent in Isaiah, “ Rejoice not thou, 
whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken : 
for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and 
his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent” (xiv. 29). Such an evil 
flies in the church when there is faith in momentaneous salva- 
tion from immediate mercy; for thereby, 1. Religion is abol- 
ished ; 2. Security is induced ; and 3. Damnation is imputed to 
the Lord. As to what concerns the First, That thereby religion 
28 abolished ; there are two essentials and at the same time univer- 
sals iv religion, an acknowledgment of a God and repentance. 

271 


340 ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING 


These two essentials are useless to those who think to be saved 
barely from mercy, without regard to their lives; for what 
need have they of any thing more than to say, God have mercy 
upon me? As to every thing else appertaining to religion, 
they are in the dark, indeed they love darkness. Of the first 
essential of the church, which is an acknowledgment of God, 
they only think, What is God? Who ever saw him? If it is 
aftirmed that there is a God, and that he is one, they assent 
that he is one; if it is affirmed that there are three, they also 
say that there are three, but that these three are to be called 
one. This is their acknowledgment of God. Of the other 
essential of the church, which is repentance, they think nothing 
at all, and consequently nothing of sin, and at length do not 
know that there is such a thing as sin. They then hear, and 
imbibe it with pleasure, that the law does not condemn, because 
a Christian is not under its yoke. If you only say, God have 
mercy upon me for thy Son’s sake, you will be saved. ‘This is 
repentance of life with them. But remove repentance, or, what 
amounts to the same, separate life from religion, and what re- 
mains but the words, Have mercy upon me? Hence it is, that 
they cannot conceive otherwise but that salvation is effected in 
a moment by means of those words, if not before, yet at the 
hour of death. In such case, what is the Word to them but 
like an obscure and enigmatical voice uttered from a tripod in a 
cave? or like an unintelligible response from the oracle of an 
idol? In a word, if you remove repentance, that is, separate 
life from religion, what else is a man but evil shining from in- 
fernal fire, or a fiery flying serpent in the church? for without 
repentance a man is in evil, and evil is hell. Srconpiy, Zhat 
by faith in momentaneous salvation from pure mercy alone, secu- 
rity of life is induced. Security of life arises either from the 
beliet of the impious that there is no life after death, or from 
the belief of those who separate life from salvation. A person — 
of the latter description, although he believe in eternal life, 
still thinks, Whether I live well, or live ill, I can be saved, be- 
cause salvation is pure mercy, and the mercy of God is univer- 
sal, as he wills not the death of any one. If haply a thought 
occurs that mercy is to be implored by a form of words agree- 
able to the commonly received faith, he may think that this, if 
not before, can be done at the hour of death. Every man that 
is in such a state of security makes light of adulteries, frauds, 
injustice, violence, blasphemies, and revenge; and gives a loose 
to his flesh and his spirit in the commission of all these evils. 
Nor does he know what spiritual evil is, and its concupiscences. 
If he hears any thing thereof out of the Word, it may be com- 
pared to something falling upon ebony and rebounding, or to 
something which falls intoa ditch and isswallowed up. ‘Tuirpty, 
That by such a faith damnation is imputed to the Lord. Who but 
272 


THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 3840 


must conclude that, if he is not saved, it is not the man’s fault, 
but the Lord’s, when every one can be saved from pure mercy ? 
If it be affirmed that faith is the means of salvation, he will 
urge, What man is there to whom such faith may not be given, 
as it only consists in thought, which can be infused in every 
state of the spirit abstracted from worldly things, even with 
confidence? He may further urge, I cannot take it of myself ; 
if therefore it is not given, and a man is damned, what else can 
the damned think than that it is the Lord’s fault, who could 
save him and would not? And would not this be to eall the 
Lord unmerciful? Besides, in the warmth of his faith, he may 
ask, Why can the Lord see so many damned in hell, when he 
is nevertheless able to save all in a moment from a principle of 
pure mercy? Not to mention other suggestions of a similar 
nature, which can be called nothing but impious impeachments 
of the Divinity. Hence then it may appear, that faith in mo- 
mentaneous salvation from pure mercy is the fiery flying serpent 
in the church. 


Wied. Fo) oR ee el 


Exousr my adding this relation to fill up the superfluous 
paper. Certain spirits by permission ascended from hell, and 
said to me, You have written a great deal from the Lord, write 
something also from us. I replied, What shall I write ? They 
said, Write, that every spirit, whether he be good or evil, is in 
his own delight,—the good in the delight of his good, and the 
evil in the delight of his evil. I asked them, What may your 
delight be? They said that it was the delight of committing 
adultery, stealing, defrauding, and lying. Again I asked, 
What is the nature of those delights? They replied, that they 
were perceived by others as stenches from excrement, putrid 
smells from dead bodies, and the effluvia of stagnated urine. 
I said, Are those things delightful to you? They replied, Most 
delightful. I said, Then you are like the unclean beasts which 
live in such filth. They answered, If we are, we are; but such | 
things are the delights of our nostrils. I asked, What more 
shall I write from you? They said, Write this, that it is per- 
mitted every one to be in his own delight, even the most unclean 
as it is called, provided it does not infest good spirits and angels; 
but as we could not do otherwise than infest them, we were 
driven out, and cast into hell, where we experience direful 
sufferings. I asked, Why did you infest the good? They 
replied, that they could not do otherwise. It is as if a certain 
fury invaded us, when we see any angel, and feel the divine 
sphere about him. I said, Then you are even like wild beasts. 

273 


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